Manual-Awareness Raising PDF

Communication and Information (CI)
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

920 Sukhumvit Rd., Prakanong
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Principles of
Awareness-Raising
for Information Literacy,
a case study
Richard Sayers
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Sayers, Richard
Principles of awareness-raising: Information literacy, a case study.
Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2006.
124 pages
1. Information literacy. 2. Public awareness.
ISBN 92-9223-082-4
UNESCO 2006
Published by
The designations employed and the presentation of material

throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any
opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal
status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities or
concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The author is responsible for the choice and the presentation of

the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed
therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do no
commit the Organisation.
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Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the following individuals and
organisations for their contributions to this handbook:
Ms Paromita Pain, "The Hindu" newspaper, India
Mrs Pradeepa Wijetunge, Director, National Institute of Library and

Information Sciences (NILIS), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Mr Stephen O'Connor, CEO, CAVAL Collaborative Solutions,

Australia
Dr Susanne Ornager, UNESCO, Thailand
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Contents
Foreword Preface vii
Introduction ix
Chapter 1: Introduction to Communication and 1
Awareness-Raising
Further Reading 19
Chapter 2: Planning an Awareness-Raising Campaign 21
Further Reading 42
Chapter 3: Approaches to Awareness-Raising 43
Personal Communication 47
Mass Communication 48
Education 50
Public Relations (PR) 52
Advocacy 53
Further Reading 58
Chapter 4: Awareness-Raising for Special Audiences 59
Further Reading 65
Chapter 5: Information Literacy - Setting the Scene 67
Further Reading 75
Chapter 6: Raising Awareness of Information Literacy 77
Further Reading 94
Appendix 1: Communication in Practice - "Pass-it-on" 97
Appendix 2: Awareness-Raising Campaign Plan Template 99
Appendix 3: Empowering Eight Information Literacy Model 101
Glossary 103
Index 107
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Foreword
This handbook has been written to provide guidelines for
developing process of awareness-raising. Theories, principles and
techniques are offered in this manual based on the experiences of
those who have developed practices that were successful and that
met certain expectations. Rather than presenting generalizations,
the handbook focuses on one event, the United Nations Literacy
Decade 2003-2012.
The success of Decade depends on the involvement of all.

Governments, school systems, academic and research centres, the
mass media, private enterprises, social organizations, and
educational, cultural and religious institutions, all have a place and
a role to play in this endeavour. UNESCO supports networks of
many kinds, and awareness-raising is a necessity in determining the
kind of networks which must be shepherd.
Awareness is a somewhat broad and vague term, yet one that is

intuitively widely understood. As part of a permanent and
interactive communication flow, awareness-raising is a process
which opens opportunities for information exchange in order to
improve mutual understanding and to develop competencies and
skills necessary to enable changes in social attitude and
behaviour. To be effective, the process of awareness-raising must
meet and maintain the mutual needs and interests of the actors
involved.
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For the successful implementation of the Literacy Decade for
Literacy for All, the principal strategies must be put in place at all
levels through actions that are coordinated and complement each
other. The key areas for action are policy development, programme
modality, capacity-building, research, monitoring and evaluation. It
must be stressed that all actions must address the gender equality
perspective in all its ramifications.
Any model of awareness-raising, or campaign planning, should be

a tool to stimulate discussions and innovations in the design of the
process and not a rigid how-to-do recipe. A model can focus on
finding optimal combinations of different approaches. Examples of
such approaches or modes are public relations (PR), advocacy,
personal communication or educational programs in schools.
A characteristic of a good campaign is an optimal combination of

elements from the different modes. Each mode has its advantages
and opportunities that can be a unique contribution to the total mix
of strategies. However, some processes will deliberately choose to
focus only on one mode because of the organizations' specific skills,
target audiences or goals.
The objective, through this handbook, is to offer a helping hand to

everybody involved in awareness-raising processes by endowing
them with comprehensive information about what, how and when
issues are to be raised in order to embark successfully on the
journey to raising awareness.
Sheldon Shaeffer
Director, UNESCO Bangkok
March 2006
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Introduction
"Information Literacy, in conjunction with access to essential
information and effective use of information and
communication technologies, plays a leading role in reducing
the inequities within and among countries and peoples, and
in promoting tolerance and mutual understanding through
information use in multicultural and multilingual contexts."
The Prague Declaration:
"Towards an Information Literate Society", 20031
"Bringing about positive, equitable and sustainable

change is a difficult process"
Oxfam International Youth Parliament, 20052
This handbook introduces the principles of public awareness-raising

with particular emphasis on global efforts to promote awareness of
Information Literacy.
Information Literacy is defined by the Association of College and

Research Libraries in the United States as "the set of skills needed to
find, retrieve, analyze, and use information."3 These skills are
1 http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/post-
infolitconf&meet/PragueDeclaration.pdf (accessed 10 March 2006)
2 Oxfam International Youth Parliament (2005) Case Study Collection:
Awareness Raising and Behavioural Change, Strawberry Hills, NSW: Oxfam
Australia, p. 5, http://iyp.oxfam.org/documents/ (accessed 12 March 2006)
3 http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/infolitoverview/introtoinfolit/
introinfolit.htm (accessed 10 March 2006)
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viewed by many policy makers and educators as critical to the
creation of an equitable global 'Information Society' in which both
developed and developing nations can share in social and
economic development.
This handbook has been developed primarily as a resource for

administrators, librarians, teachers, lecturers and community
leaders charged with responsibility for raising public awareness
about Information Literacy. It is hoped that the various approaches
and strategies suggested in this publication will serve to stimulate
further discussion about Information Literacy and inspire innovative
new awareness-raising campaigns. The outcomes of these
campaigns may in turn be shared with others through the
International Information Literacy Resources Directory recently
launched by the International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA) and UNESCO.4
When promoting Information Literacy to our communities and

countries, we should always remember that to raise public
awareness is to inform community attitudes, behaviours and beliefs
with the intention of influencing them positively.
Raising public awareness of any issue is not an easy undertaking

and achieving lasting behavioural change is harder still. However,
as this handbook demonstrates, with a basic understanding of
human communication, some knowledge of effective approaches
to awareness-raising, and a measure of simple planning, it is
possible to affect positive, equitable and sustainable change.
4 http://www.uv.mx/usbi_ver/unesco (accessed 10 March 2006)
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Chapter 1: Introduction
to Communication
and Awareness-Raising
In this chapter:
Principles of communication
Why communication can fail
Hearing, seeing and doing
Definitions of awareness-raising
Social marketing and behavioural change
Communication strategies for awareness-raising
It is generally accepted that to raise public awareness of a topic or

issue is to attempt to inform a community's attitudes, behaviours and
beliefs. Furthermore, it is our intention through information to
influence these attitudes, behaviours and beliefs positively in the
achievement of a defined purpose or goal: for example, improving
public health or promoting Information Literacy.
The theory and practice of public awareness-raising has always

drawn heavily on the literature of mass communication and social
or "social change" marketing. Social change marketing refers to the
practice of communicating or selling a 'good idea' with the stated
object of changing community attitudes and actions. Seeking and
using information (Information Literacy) is one such good idea, but
other examples include messages about public health and
education, environmental concerns and social inclusion.
The difficulty of selling a good idea should not be underestimated,

even where it has the endorsement and support of government or
civil society. Providing information and promoting understanding of
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an issue is relatively easy to achieve with the right strategies and
approaches. It also requires relatively few resources. Changing
individual or community practices however is more difficult to affect
and may not always be accomplished simply through awareness-
raising. As one social marketing expert has noted, "changing
people's behaviour has always been the most problematic
enterprise in human affairs."5 Behavioural change is still possible to
achieve though and chapter three will examine suitable approaches
in detail.
As effective communication forms the basis of all social marketing

and public awareness-raising, we will begin by looking at how
communication operates within communities and societies.
Principles of Communication
Communication is such a common human activity that we often
overlook the complexity of interactions at its core. As one writer
observes, "communication is one of those human activities that
everyone recognizes but few can define satisfactorily."6
Reflect for a moment on what communication and particularly

public communication means to you and your community. What
are the most effective means of public communication available
to you and your community? Is it for example 'word of mouth' -
one person to another - or the local newspaper? If this is a
difficult question to answer, consider how information and
knowledge is typically shared within your family, community and
society. Many societies, particularly in developing countries,
rely on the spoken word or graphical images for public
communication.
5 http://media.socialchange.net.au/strategy/ (accessed 16 March 2006)

6 John Fiske (1982) Introduction to Communication Studies, London: Methuen, p. 1
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Communication may be broadly defined as "a negotiation and
exchange of meaning, in which messages, people-in-cultures
and 'reality' interact so as to enable meaning to be produced or
understanding to occur."7 A simpler explanation might be to
describe communication as a three-part process by which we
(1) transmit and (2) receive information using one or more of a
range of channels or media: for example, speaking to a meeting
or workshop (one-way communication) and providing the
opportunity for questions and discussion (two-way
communication). Once information is transmitted and received,
it is then necessary to (3) make sense of the message or
messages embedded in the information. This final part of the
communication process is typically the least successful, for
reasons we will examine in detail now.
Consider the popular game for children known in various parts

of the world as "Broken Telephone", "Whisper down the lane",
"Gossip" or "Pass-it-on" - see Appendix 1. The idea of this game
is simply to pass or transmit a basic message - usually a simple
phrase - from one player to another without it being overheard,
usually by means of whispering. The fun of the game lies in the
subtle alteration of the message as it is passes from the first
player to the last via a number of intermediaries. As the online
Wikipedia notes, "If the game has been 'successful', the final
message will bear little or no resemblance to the original, due to
the cumulative effect of mistakes along the line."8 The critical
lesson for observers is just how easily information can be
degraded and altered through repetitive and careless
communication.
7 Tim O'Sullivan et al (1983) Key Concepts in Communication, London:

Methuen, p. 42
8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers (accessed 12 March 2006)
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As the "Pass-it-on" game demonstrates therefore, communication
is not an easy process. What are some of the common
challenges?
Communication is omnipresent and inescapable - it's
everywhere! The challenge is to separate quality from
quantity.
Communication is irreversible - once something is said or
published it cannot be taken back or undone. The challenge
is to avoid or minimise opportunities for misunderstanding and
misinterpretation.
Communication is complicated and the degree of
complexity is most often determined by factors or
variables that we can anticipate and to some
extent control. The challenge is to manage these
variables through effective planning, implementation and
monitoring.
Three critical factors influence communication complexity and thus

should be managed:
1. The channel or medium used
2. The personal experiences and opinions of the communicators
(speaker and listener, writer and reader)
3. Environmental factors that often have little or nothing to do
with the message being communicated
Common environmental factors include:

The physical space in which the communication is occurring -
for example, if a public meeting is being held to share
information, is the meeting room sufficiently large to
accommodate everyone in relative comfort? The effectiveness
of communication may be diminished if people feel crowded,
they cannot hear the speaker properly, or the room is too hot
or too cold.
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External distractions that cause the message to be missed or,
worse still, misunderstood
The credibility of the communicator - can I believe this
person?
The listener or reader's level of education and background
knowledge of the topic
The design of the message - is it appropriate to the
audience?
Why Communication Fails - Wiio's Laws

Wiio's Laws are a good starting point for understanding the
challenges of effective communication, and hence the difficulties
faced in planning and implementing awareness-raising
campaigns. Professor Osmo A. Wiio is a Finnish academic who
has studied and researched human communication over many
years. His laws, first published in Finnish in 1978, are both
humorous and serious.9
1. Communication usually fails, except by accident
Why does human communication usually fail?
Language differences
The language of the Internet for example is English, often
idiomatic English that is poorly written and heavily
abbreviated.
Cultural differences
The bigger and more diverse your audience, the
more likely it is that someone will misunderstand your
message.
9 http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/wiio.html (accessed 1 February 2006)
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Personal differences
Even outwardly homogenous societies or communities are
comprised of individuals with different life experiences and
opinions.
Lost information
To err is human - at various times we have all missed critical
information through inattention or the failure of a specific
medium: for example, the electricity fails in the middle of a
radio news broadcast. In the worst cases we may not be
aware that information is actually missing.
2. If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be

interpreted in a manner that maximises damages
3. There is always someone who knows better than you what you
meant with your message
4. The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds

It is worth remembering that the quality of a message is
always preferable to its quantity. The more a message is
propagated, the more likely it is to be distorted with each
summation and re-telling. Related to this is the problem of
reinforcement when an incorrect message is repeated over
and over until it is accepted as being correct. Propagandists
know that if you tell a lie often enough it will eventually
become the 'truth'.
5. In mass communication, the important thing is not how things are

but how they seem to be
6. The importance of a news item is inversely proportional to the

square of the distance
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In short, the further we are located physically, intellectually and
emotionally from a message, the less interested we are likely to
be in its content.
And finally,
7. The more important the situation is, the more probably you forget
an essential thing that you remembered a moment ago
Since the early 1990s, Wiio's Laws have found renewed relevance
in relation to communication via the Internet - especially email
which is most often responsible for misunderstandings when the
wrong tone or 'voice' is used and body language cannot be seen to
verify intent.
So-called 'netiquette' is now used by many people to help

overcome problems of misunderstanding caused by email.10
Examples of common email netiquette include the following points
adapted from advice to email users provided by the Yale
University Library:
Keep paragraphs short and place blank lines between
paragraphs. This allows readers to scan messages quickly.
Avoid using capital letters for whole words as this can be
interpreted as shouting, which is typically rude in any culture
or society. If emphasis is required, use two asterisks (* *)
around the word or phrase.
Write like a journalist and place your most important
information in the first paragraph.
Use descriptive subject lines that identify the message content
and enable recipients to file and retrieve messages more
effectively.
10 http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/ (accessed 14 March 2006)
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Create single subject messages whenever possible.
Limit sentence length to 20 words or two lines.
Use bullets or numbers and short paragraphs whenever
possible. The more succinct the message, the more likely it
will be read, understood and acted upon.
Use the "active" rather than "passive" voice whenever possible.
Use emoticons sparingly. Emoticons are combinations of
keyboard characters that convey emotion when viewed
sideways: for example, a smiley face indicates happiness
or satisfaction. Emoticons may work well with recipients
who are familiar with their use but are more likely to cause
misunderstandings with those who are new to the Internet.
Avoid misinterpretation of dates by spelling out the month and
typing the year in full: for example - 24 June 2001.
Figure 1: An example of email netiquette in practice
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Communication - Hearing, Seeing and Doing
"Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember.
Involve me, and I will understand."
Confucius, circa 450 BC
As we have already noted, once information is received, it is then

necessary for us to identify and interpret (make sense of) any
embedded message or messages. This is the third cognitive
dimension to communication.
Learning theorists acknowledge that our effectiveness as

communicators relies on two key senses: sight and hearing. Also of
critical importance to understanding is the realisation that adults in
particular learn best when what they see and hear is reinforced with
action - the capacity to experience or 'do' that which has been seen
and heard. This process is often called "experiential learning"; a
term originally credited to David A Kolb.11
Consider the following propositions:

We learn 1% through taste
1.5% through touch
3.5% through smell
11% through hearing
83% through sight
We remember 10% of what we read

20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
80% of what we say
90% of what we say and do
11 http://reviewing.co.uk/research/experiential.learning.htm#26
(accessed 12 March 2006)
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Therefore, in approaching an awareness-raising campaign for the
first time it is essential that the following points are understood:
1. Know your purpose - in our case study (chapters five and six)
the purpose will be to raise awareness about Information
Literacy
2. Let your purpose guide and inform your message
3. Know your audience - communicate with the right people in
the first instance and be mindful of their social, cultural and
educational backgrounds
4. Anticipate problems and find solutions or manage the risk
5. Ensure credibility with your audience - trust is vital
6. Present information using a variety of approaches and
techniques but ensure each is appropriate to your purpose,
message and audience
7. Communicate a little at a time - aim for quality over quantity
8. Assume that any communication has been unsuccessful until
you have evidence to the contrary - look for practical ways to
get useful feedback from your audience
We will revisit these points again in chapter two when we consider

planning an awareness-raising campaign.
Definitions of Awareness-Raising
"A fully aware, well informed and properly trained
population is the best guarantee of safety and of
successful response to any disaster."12
Awareness-raising is a broad and somewhat vague term, yet one

that is almost intuitively understood in most societies and cultures.
To raise awareness of something - good, bad or indifferent - is to
promote its visibility and credibility within a community or society. To
12 http://www.unep.org/tsunami/apell_tsunamis.pdf (accessed 1 February 2006)
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raise awareness is also to inform and educate people about a topic
or issue with the intention of influencing their attitudes, behaviours
and beliefs towards the achievement of a defined purpose or goal.
As the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami again demonstrated,

awareness-raising is a critical first step in influencing behaviour and
affecting lasting social change. In December 2005, the New
Scientist magazine reported that the tsunami early warning system
for the Indian Ocean was nearing completion. It also noted
concerns within civil society that the system would be largely
ineffective if people living in coastal areas were not told how to
respond to warnings.13 For further tragedies to be avoided it is
clearly not enough to put in place the technical means of detecting
an undersea earthquake. The awareness of people must also be
raised in order to ensure that the correct actions can be taken in the
event that another tsunami is detected in the region.
Generally, awareness-raising is understood to be a constructive and

potentially catalytic force that ultimately leads to a positive change in
actions and behaviours. These changes may be sought by stakeholders
in individuals, groups, organisations, communities or societies.
Remember:
To raise public awareness of a topic or issue is to inform a
community's attitudes, behaviours and beliefs with the intention of
influencing them positively in the achievement of a defined
purpose or goal: for example, improving public health or
promoting Information Literacy.
13 "Early Warning", New Scientist, 2531(2), 24-31 December 2005, P. 5.
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Campaigning is often less well understood and may be seen as a
broadly organised effort to change practices, policies or
behaviours. It is based on the ability of stakeholders to
communicate the same message to a variety of audiences using a
range of approaches.
A campaign will typically involve four key actions:

Researching the issue
Mobilising support and supporters
Informing the public
Lobbying decision-makers14
A well-planned and thoughtfully presented awareness-raising

campaign is arguably one of the most efficient and effective
means of communicating information about a particular topic or
issue to a large and geographically dispersed body of people: for
example, the public of a country or a specific community within
that country.
Awareness-Raising, Social Marketing and

Behavioural Change
Providing information and creating awareness about an issue
does not however automatically lead to behavioural change; if
that is the intention of an awareness-raising campaign. As
global warming testifies, heightened awareness of the links
between fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions does not
necessarily translate into less coal or oil being burned;
particularly in the wealthier industrialised countries of North
America and Europe.
14 http://iyp.oxfam.org/documents/OIYP%20Case%20Study%20Collection.pdf
(accessed 1 February 2006)
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A document on awareness-raising and behavioural change prepared
for the Oxfam International Youth Parliament in 2005 draws in part on
research into HIV/AIDS programs undertaken by the Burnet Institute in
Australia. This work identifies five distinct phases of behavioural change:
1. Pre-contemplation
2. Contemplation
3. Preparation
4. Action
5. Maintenance15
Figure 2:
The first stages of behaviour change
The Oxfam authors paraphrase these stages as:

1. Knowledge (pre-contemplation) - demonstrating awareness
of the desired behaviour
2. Approval (contemplation) - voicing endorsement and support
for the behaviour
3. Intention (preparation) - making the decision to adopt the
behaviour, whether conditionally or unconditionally
4. Practice (action) - committing to the behaviour in a consistent
and sustainable way
5. Advocacy (maintenance) - encouraging others to adopt the
behaviour and encouraging them in their intention and
practice
15 http://www.burnet.internationalhealth.edu.au/freestyler/gui/files/fsb_change.pdf
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To achieve lasting behavioural change, people must be
encouraged to move through each successive phase in order to
reach the point where new behaviours can be maintained
(Burnet) and others are encouraged to adopt them (Oxfam). To
ensure a successful awareness-raising campaign, it is necessary
therefore to know which phase the majority of the target
population is in, and thus develop an appropriate message and
communication strategy.
A similarly pragmatic approach is described in the "Seven Doors"

approach to social marketing. This model also cautions against
the assumption that successfully providing information through
awareness-raising will automatically result in lasting behavioural
change. Campaign director and social marketing consultant Les
Robinson asks the question: "What if people already know plenty
about the problem and have a pretty good idea what they
should do and want to do it, but something else is stopping
them?"16
Robinson's solution is to identify seven steps to social change:

1. Knowledge - knowing there is a problem
2. Desire - imagining a different future
3. Skills - knowing what to do to achieve that future
4. Optimism - confidence or belief in success
5. Facilitation - resources and support infrastructure
6. Stimulation - a compelling stimulus that promotes
action
7. Reinforcement - regular communications that reinforce
the original message or messages
16 Les Robinson (1998) The Seven Doors Social Marketing Approach,

http://media.socialchange.net.au/strategy/ (accessed 14 March 2006)
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Figure 3: Seven Steps to Social Change
Robinson goes on to identify each step as an obstacle that has to

be overcome using appropriate communication and education
strategies. He visualises each step or obstacle as a door that must
be opened in the context of awareness-raising in order to achieve
lasting social change.
Figure 4: Opening Seven Doors to Social Change

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Communication Strategies for Awareness-Raising
An awareness-raising campaign will typically communicate either
(a) one central message or (b) a suite of closely related subsidiary
messages - usually no more than five - that are linked by a common
theme: for example, Information Literacy or environmental
sustainability.
The central message or themed messages of a campaign are

communicated to a selected target audience or range of
audiences using different approaches and techniques described
in a document called a communication strategy or
communication plan. The process of communication defined in
the strategy document or plan will usually take place within a
strictly defined - finite - period of time: for example, school
term, university orientation week or the lead-up to a major
festival or holiday.
There are therefore four key components of an effective awareness-

raising campaign and all should be defined and described in our
planning:
1. Message
2. Audience
3. Strategy
4. Timing
These four components may be remembered

and explained by thinking of the MAST on a
sailing ship as it gathers and focuses the
wind that pushes the vessel towards its goal -
in this case, greater public awareness and
understanding.
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As we will explore in greater detail in chapter four, individuals -
particularly adults - differ in their preferred learning styles. A
communication mix is necessary therefore to ensure that everyone
in the target audience receives and understands the campaign
message through at least one approach. Given the diversity
evident in most communities, any awareness-raising campaign that
relies too heavily on just one or two approaches is unlikely to
achieve its goals.
Common approaches and techniques for raising public awareness

include:
Personal communication with community members through
public meetings, presentations, workshops and informal
social events
Structured education and training programs in schools,
colleges, universities, adult learning centres and libraries
Enhanced information literacy skills within libraries, schools
and universities
Static and traveling exhibitions and displays
Printed materials - for example, brochures, billboards,
cartoons, comics, pamphlets, posters, and resource books
Audiovisual resources - for example, pre-recorded cassettes,
videos, CDs and DVDs
Websites, email discussion lists and Web Logs (blogs)
Mass media interviews and articles in newspapers, magazines
and electronic publications accessible via the Internet
Mass media interviews and news items on radio and television
Celebrity spokespeople - for example, Desmond de Silva in
support of the Autism Awareness Campaign in Sri Lanka17
Where oral traditions dominate, performances of specially
composed stories, songs, dances, plays and poems
17 http://autism_srilanka.tripod.com/ (accessed 1 February 2006)
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Strategic partnerships and alliances with other organisations -
for example, local libraries, schools and civil society
Public Relations (PR)
Political advocacy and lobbying
Approaches to raising public awareness will be discussed in greater

detail in chapter three.
Remember:
An effective awareness-raising campaign strategy will employ a
variety of different communication approaches and techniques to
ensure that the central message is received and understood by a
diverse audience.
Activity: Community Approaches to Awareness-

raising
Consider for a moment the challenges attendant on raising
awareness about a particular issue in your community. Try to list
up to five approaches to awareness-raising that you think should
be included in a communication mix focused on your
community. Why are they significant and what resources would
be required?
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
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Further Reading
Fiske, J. (1982) Introduction to Communication Studies, London:
Methuen
King, D. (2000) Four Principles of Interpersonal Communication,

http://www.pstcc.edu/facstaff/dking/interpr.htm
Korpela, J. (2003) How all human communication fails, except by

accident, or a commentary of Wiio's laws,
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/wiio.html (accessed 12 March 2006)
O'Sullivan, T. et al (1983) Key Concepts in Communication,

London: Methuen
Oxfam International Youth Parliament (2005) Case Study

Collection: Awareness Raising and Behavioural Change,
http://iyp.oxfam.org/documents/OIYP%20Case%20Study%20Coll
ection.pdf (accessed 14 March 2006)
Robinson, L. (1998) The Seven Doors Social Marketing Approach,

http://media.socialchange.net.au/strategy/
Yodmani, S. (2001) Disaster risk management and vulnerability

reduction: Protecting the poor,
http://www.adb.org/Poverty/Forum/pdf/Yodmani.pdf
Youth Action for Peace (2004) Training on Awareness Raising,

Public Relations and Lobbying: Final Report,
http://www.coe.int/T/E/cultural_co-
operation/Youth/2004%20_YAP_SSReport_awareness_raising_
PR.pdf (accessed 14 March 2006)
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Chapter 2: Planning
an Awareness-Raising
Campaign
In this chapter:
Attributes of a successful awareness-raising campaign
Brainstorming ideas
Defining the campaign message
Describing the target audience
Monitoring the campaign
Using a planning template
Even modest public awareness-raising campaigns communicating

seemingly simple messages can grow to become complex projects
requiring detailed coordination and management. Most awareness-
raising campaigns will involve multiple audiences, objectives and
approaches, tight deadlines that have to be met, and some measure of
accountability for resources employed: for example, funds provided by
government or civil society. To give a campaign the best chance of
success therefore, it is critical to undertake careful and detailed planning.
One of the most valuable and quoted guides to campaign planning

is the US National Cancer Institute's publication "Making Health
Communication Programs Work", also known as the "Pink Book".18
The authors identify five attributes of an effective health
communication campaign and it is possible for us to map these
characteristics to MAST, covered in the previous chapter:
1. Campaign goal defined (MMessage)
Audience)
2. Intended audience defined (A
18 http://www.cancer.gov/pinkbook/ (accessed 10 March 2006)
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3. Messages defined, pre-tested and refined (M Message)
4. Materials pre-tested and revised (SStrategy)
5. Campaign implemented according to a plan and evaluated
regularly (SStrategy, Timing)
A typical planning process might begin with all of the relevant

stakeholders coming together for a brainstorming session. The
purpose of brainstorming is to quickly generate lots of ideas about
a particular issue, usually with the help of a neutral facilitator or
chairperson and some simple guiding questions. Brainstorming is
also a useful technique for identifying obstacles and enablers, which
we will cover in detail further on in this chapter.
Think back to MAST (Message, Audience, Strategy and Timing) and

consider now the following simple questions in relation to your campaign:
1. What is the central message or messages of the campaign?
2. What are the goals or objectives of the campaign - what will
a successful campaign be seen to have achieved when it is
complete?
3. Is government, civil society or community authority or endorsement
required to run the campaign nationally and locally?
4. Who will comprise the target audience or audiences for this
campaign?
5. What will be the overall reach of the campaign - realistically,
how many people in the target audience or audiences will be
exposed to the central message of the campaign?
6. What communication strategy will be most effective for
reaching the intended target audience or audiences - to
increase the reach of the message and enhance audience
understanding?
7. How much information should be provided in support of the
message? Our aim should be to inform and educate our
audience, not overwhelm them with spurious facts and figures.
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8. What level of public involvement will be necessary to ensure
success?
9. What influence over the campaign is the target audience likely
to want or need in return for their endorsement and/or
involvement?
10. What timeframe is involved - when will the campaign begin
and end?
11. How will the stakeholders responsible for the planning and
delivery of the campaign know that it has been a success -
how will the campaign be monitored and evaluated?
Congratulations! Your answers to these questions are the product of

structured brainstorming and will become the foundation of your
awareness-raising campaign.
Once all of the ideas generated by a brainstorming session have

been recorded, it is important for the stakeholders to work with the
facilitator to identify the key concepts that will form the basis of the
awareness-raising campaign plan.
When first considering your intended audience, it is also advisable

to inform the brainstorming process with some initial market
research on the groups and communities that have been targeted.
More market research will be required later as you describe your
target audience in greater detail in the awareness-raising
campaign plan.
The National Disaster Education Coalition in the United States

advises campaigners to consider the following information in
relation to their intended audience, or market:
Age
Gender
Social, cultural and political context
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Economic standing
Education
Language
It is also important to consider what obstacles and enablers might

be present in the community or group under consideration.
Obstacles will potentially delay or undermine the campaign
but can be overcome with foresight, planning and resources
Enablers are localised forces or capabilities that can help us
to achieve our goals - for example, an influential community
leader or elder who publicly endorses the campaign
Market research need not be arduous but should at a minimum

address the following points:
The needs of the target community or group
Specific challenges or issues that will need to be addressed -
for example, cultural or political issues
Potential obstacles to success - for example, geographical
remoteness or limited infrastructure
Likely enablers
Availability of resources - i.e., what is present in the community
and what will need to be provided to ensure success
Activity: Awareness-Raising in Practice

Consider the following Fact Sheet extracted from the International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions' continuing
"Campaign for the World's Libraries"19.
1. What is the stated purpose of the campaign?

___________________________________________________
19 http://www.ifla.org/@yourlibrary/index.htm (accessed 14 March 2006)
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2. What is the central message or messages of the campaign?
___________________________________________________
3. What do you understand to be the goals or objectives of the

campaign - what are the campaigners trying to achieve?
___________________________________________________
4. Who is identified as the target audience?

___________________________________________________
5. Has anyone authorised or endorsed the campaign?

___________________________________________________
6. What sort of audience reach is likely in this campaign?

___________________________________________________
Search Contacts
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
Activities & Services
The Campaign for the World's Libraries
Co-ssponsored by IFLA and ALA
FACT SHEET
The Campaign for the World's Libraries is a public education

campaign of the International Federation of Library Associations
and Institutions, the American Library Association and libraries
around the world to speak loudly and clearly about the value of
libraries and librarians in the 21st century. It is designed to
showcase the unique and vital roles played by public, school,
academic and special libraries worldwide.
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The Campaign for the World's Libraries was officially launched in
August 2001 during the IFLA Council and General Conference in
Boston, Massachusetts. It is based on The Campaign for
America's Libraries, a multi-year public education campaign
sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries
across the U.S. The U.S. campaign, which officially launched to
the public during National Library Week 2001, uses a
trademarked brand - - to unify the communications activities of
libraries across the country.
During the 2001 IFLA

conference, 2001-2002 ALA
President John W. Berry shared
the campaign with IFLA
members to coordinate the
campaign outside the United
States. As part of this gift, ALA
created a special logo for IFLA
using the artwork in IFLA's
official languages. The IFLA
campaign also uses the slogan
(and its official translations) to
unify the communications
activities of libraries around the world.
As a result of worldwide interest, the logo has been translated into

IFLA's official languages (English, French, German, Russian and
Spanish) as well as other languages to date, including Arabic,
Armenian, Azeri, Bulgarian, Chinese, Georgian, Icelandic, Italian,
Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Nepali, Portuguese, Romanian,
Serbian, Turkish and Vietnamese. Artwork, information materials
and a consumer-oriented video have been translated into Spanish
by ALA.
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At an program at the 2003 IFLA conference in Berlin,
representatives from Brazil, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Georgia
and Singapore spoke about how their associations are participating
in the campaign. It was also decided to create a Web site to
showcase activities from the various campaigns and to create a
discussion list to facilitate information sharing.
There are three core messages to The Campaign for the World's
Libraries, modeled after the messages of the U.S. campaign. They are:
Libraries are changing and dynamic places.
Libraries are places of opportunity.
Libraries bridge the world.
Through the consistent delivery of these key messages, the

campaign aims:
to raise awareness about the variety of programs and services
offered;
to increase use of libraries at schools, at colleges and
universities, in government, at work, and in daily community life;
to increase funding for libraries;
to involve librarians as stakeholders on public policy issues
such as intellectual freedom, equity of access and the "digital
divide;"
to encourage librarianship as a profession.
Through outreach efforts, the campaign targets:

general public -- parents, children, students, senior citizens
and business people;
educators, school groups and administrators;
government leaders, policymakers and opinion leaders;
librarians and those who are considering the library profession;
media;
strategic partners, including funding agencies.
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For more information about the U.S. campaign, including how to
subscribe to a discussion list for the latest updates, visit the
campaign Web site at www.ala.org/@yourlibrary. For ideas on how
other countries are getting involved in the campaign, visit
the Ontario (Canada) Library Association Web site at
www.accessola.com/@yourlibrary and the Web site of the Mexican
Association of Librarians at www.ambac.org.mx/entubiblioteca.
Defining the Campaign Message

Communicating the correct message or messages about a topic or
issue is absolutely critical to the success of an awareness-raising
campaign.
In Australia for example, the public health message about skin

cancer focuses on preventing rather than curing problems
caused by excessive exposure to the sun. This approach is
interpreted to be more positive by the targeted audiences -
adults and older children - and ultimately saves people and
governments money as preventing skin cancer costs much less
than medical treatment. Timing and novelty have always been
critical to Australia's skin cancer campaign with the central
message ("slip on a t-shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on
a hat") rested during winter and re-launched at the start of each
summer.
In a regional context, for example South or South East Asia, it is

also important to consider whether or not your message is
adaptable enough to be translated into the languages of
neighbouring countries and still usefully communicate the same
meaning. Where relevant, it is also important to consider how the
message might be communicated across national borders to
cultural traditions or language groups that are common to several
countries.
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Quite often, specific awareness-raising messages and approaches
will only work effectively in the context of a particular language,
culture or community identity. The effective reach of these messages
is thus limited. Consideration should be given to defining campaign
messages that can be communicated quickly, clearly and widely in
multiple languages and to different cultural traditions. As we have
seen, the "@ your library" campaign logo has been successfully
translated into over 20 languages, including Kazakh, Nepali and
Vietnamese.
An effective campaign message should also have some

personalisation (us, our, me) and minimal scope for linguistic or
cultural misunderstanding - thinking of Wiio's first and second laws
of why communication fails. Sometimes it is helpful to pre-test a
message using focus groups comprised of representatives from the
intended target audiences. Focus groups should last no more than
an hour and usually involve a facilitator and 10-12 participants. It
is generally helpful to devise a series of simple questions to
encourage and guide the feedback from participants.
Simplicity, Flexibility and Novelty

Simplicity and flexibility mean that the same message can be used
over and over again in different communication strategies and
approaches. Slogans for example are short phrases (less than ten
words) used in politics and advertising to repeatedly express an idea
or goal, or identify a commodity. Slogans are designed to be flexible
and may be used and re-used in posters, brochures, newspaper
advertisements and radio advertising jingles. The overall effect is to
keep reinforcing the same message with the target audience.
Recently, Australian cancer organisations identified a new target

audience for their message about preventing skin cancer men under
the age of 40. After some market research and focus group work,
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the "Slip Slop Slap" campaign for the summer of 2005-06 was
adjusted to include the message, "Because grown up skin needs
protection too"20 The campaign strategy was also expanded to
include new brochures and posters. The central message is simple,
flexible and very clear: men under the age of 40 should slip, slop
and slap too!
Remember:
The most effective awareness-raising messages are typically
short, simple, flexible and memorable! They should also be kept
fresh and novel to ensure that people notice them and react
positively.
Choosing Between Awareness and

Action Messages
In its 2004 publication "Talking About Disaster", the National
Disaster Education Coalition identifies two main types of campaign
messages:
1. Awareness messages - these provide general (background)
information about an issue and can be used to reinforce the
importance of informed action and behavioural change
2. Action messages - these describe in detail what actions
people should take to adjust or adopt particular behaviours
Raising public awareness of any issue or topic will typically require

a mix of awareness and action messages to be effective. Both types
of message should also be designed to be very positive, focusing for
example on the opportunities and benefits provided by new
20 http://www.qldcancer.com.au/default.asp (accessed 1 February 2006)
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behaviours rather than risks and sanctions associated with current
practices. Above all, messages should be empowering.
Case Study:
Mass Media and Health Practices, Honduras
In Honduras, South America, a very successful public health
campaign was developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s to
address the problem of diarrheal dehydration in infants. However,
rather than over-emphasising awareness of the causes (poor
sanitation and inadequate medical resources) and the obvious
consequences (high levels of infant mortality), the campaign
focused instead on action messages that enabled mothers to treat
their own children cheaply and effectively at home.
The campaign commenced with extensive training for village-

level health care workers then moved into a second phase of
awareness-raising using the country's mass media. The campaign
skillfully combined both awareness and action messages:
"As the training program was being carried out, a media

campaign was implemented to reinforce the health care
instruction effort. The campaign developed print materials and
radio advertisements to issue basic messages related to the
diarrhea rehydration therapy and the AED training program. The
messages emphasized the correct administration of oral
rehydration salts "Litrosol," the continuation of breastfeeding
during infant diarrhea periods, and encouraged mothers to seek
medical assistance if a child's condition deteriorates. Posters and
flipcharts were also created to illustrate ORT [oral rehydration
therapy] and to deliver supporting messages. The radio
advertisements were placed in 30-60 spot announcements and
often included some form of jingle, slogan, or song. Many of the
ads included a familiar announcer, Dr. Salustiano, the program's
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spokesman for technical information, who subsequently became
a nationally known figure.
The tone of the campaign was serious, straightforward and

caring. It successfully promoted a mother-craft concept, where a
mother's current actions and beliefs are supported and the
program's health techniques become an added complement to
her care-giving regimen. ORT training was presented as a new
development in modern medicine: the latest remedy for lost
appetite and a recovery aid. With a high rate of literacy (87
percent of each household with at least one literate member), and
71 percent of all households owning a functional radio, the
media campaign became an effective communication and
education tool."21
The Asian Food Information Centre (AFIC) is a Singapore-

based not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide
scientifically grounded information on nutrition, health and
food safety across the Asia Pacific region. It also acknowledges
that a mix of awareness and action messages is required to
affect behavioural change, particularly where the target
audience must "pay with the effort of making changes to their
life".22 This is particularly true of largely preventable health
conditions such as heart disease. As a starting point, effective
messages can be built around simple yet very personal
questions such as:
Why talk about heart disease - why is it important to me?
What is heart disease and what causes it?
21 http://www.social-marketing.org/success/cs-massmedia.html
22 http://www.afic.org/FFA%20Issue%2023%20Talking%20Food%20and%20Health_
English.htm (accessed 15 March 2006)
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How does heart disease affect me - what are the likely impacts
on me personally, my family, friends and community?
What is the best source of information about heart disease?
What actions can I undertake to protect myself from heart
disease and thus live longer?
Good information is critical to reinforce the credibility and

importance of both awareness and action messages. Useful
approaches include the selective use of statistics, fact sheets and
websites. An early Internet phenomenon was the FAQ, or 'frequently
asked question'. Many good examples of FAQs may be found on
the Internet but the page of questions and answers maintained by
OneWorld Radio South Asia is representative.23
Figure 5: OneWorld Radio South Asia - FAQ
23 http://radio.oneworld.net/southasia/faq (accessed 15 March 2006)
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World Heart Day is an annual campaign event designed to raise
awareness about the behavioural changes individuals and communities
can make to improve coronary health. In 2005, the central message or
theme of the campaign was "Healthy weight, Healthy Shape". The Asian
Food Information Centre (AFIC) had for some years noted rising heart
disease rates in parts of Asia and links to weight gain. Their website for
World Heart Day referred visitors to a new healthy weight management
website at http://afic.org/WMWS/index.shtml
A Word of Caution
In many western countries, populations are showing signs of
information overload and a phenomenon called "attentional blink"
whereby the brain is 'blinded' momentarily when something catches
its attention.24 It has been estimated that people may be routinely
receiving up to 3,500 discrete messages each and every day; or
roughly one message every 15 seconds that they are awake. For
anyone planning an awareness-raising campaign, this is sobering
news. Commercial marketing companies are now starting to
appreciate that "humans digest information like they do food"25
and it is possible to become uncomfortably 'full'. Once again, the
quality of information is demonstrated to be more important than
its quantity.
As a result of information overload, awareness-raising messages are

often overlooked or ignored. To overcome this problem and make the
message stand out and become more immediate, many awareness-
raising campaigns are now incorporating case studies, personal stories
and testimonials from people; often written or presented in their own
words. As professional marketing people know, a personal approach
is generally more effective at selling a good idea!
24 "Flogging a dead horse", New Scientist, 2531(2), 24-31 December 2005, p. 41

25 Ibid
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Remember:
Personal communication helps to make the audience feel more
connected with the message of the campaign and understand the
significance of that message in relation to their life and work.
Describing the Target Audience

After defining the central message, the next critical step in any
awareness-raising campaign is to get to know the intended
audience or audiences in greater detail. Building a detailed picture
of each audience is crucial to informing the development of
appropriate communication strategies. Sometimes it is necessary to
identify primary and secondary audiences, with the secondary
audience critical to the success of any communication with the
primary audience.
An example of this relationship between primary and secondary

audiences might be where the target (primary) audience for an
Information Literacy campaign related to finding employment is
teenage boys. Attracting them to the local library or school for
instruction may prove difficult until a persuasive secondary audience
is found - preferably an individual or group within the community
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whom they admire and respect. It may be that this group is their
fathers, older brothers or local soccer team, in which case they form
the secondary audience. Through this audience, the message of the
campaign is communicated to the primary audience and the goals
of the campaign are achieved.
Market Research
"Conducting market research is vital to identifying and
understanding intended audiences and developing
messages and strategies that will motivate action.
Evaluations conducted before, throughout, and after
implementation provide data on which to base
conclusions about success or failure and help to improve
current and future communication programs."26
Drawing a detailed picture of our audience - a process called

'market research' - need not be an arduous process, particularly if
the campaign has limited resources available. It should however
involve serious consideration of the following:
Identifiable community needs in relation to the campaign
Demographics - for example, how is the community
composed in terms of gender, age, family status and level of
education?
Social, cultural, religious and political issues, including local
languages and informal community leadership
Availability of resources in the community - who, what, when
and how?
Potential obstacles and possible solutions
The National Disaster Education Coalition urges sensitivity in

awareness-raising, particularly if the central message requires a
26 http://www.cancer.gov/pinkbook/page3 (accessed 15 March 2006)
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community to contribute resources. Where a message involves
particular cultural or political sensitivities, it is also advisable to
research the history of the target community, noting in particular any
specific issues (obstacles) that may have relevance to the campaign
and their likely impacts on the intended audience.
Communicating to children about disaster management requires

particular sensitivity and this issue is discussed in detail in chapter four.
Other groups with specialised needs include people with

disabilities, the aged and the infirm. In describing our audience, we
must take into account these groups and ensure our
communication strategy includes approaches appropriate to their
special needs.
Sources of information for market research

Market research generally falls into one of two broad categories:
primary research or secondary research. Within these categories,
research may be termed quantitative (facts and figures) or
qualitative (personal preferences and opinions).
Primary research involves collecting original data directly or

purchasing this information from a commercial marketing or polling
company. While it is generally more expensive to commission
primary research, the data obtained is more likely to meet the
precise needs of the campaign. Common techniques for collecting
primary research data include focus groups (discussed in chapter
two), interviews, polls and surveys, social observation, and more
recently, tracking systems (most often used on websites).
Secondary research tends to be more popular in social

marketing because it is easier to access and costs a good deal
less than primary research. It also potentially carries the
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disadvantage of being out of date and not directly related to the
campaign being planned. Familiar sources of secondary
research include:
Public libraries - census information, demographic data,
government publications, magazine articles, local maps,
newspapers, published research reports, etc
Online databases - also usually available through local
libraries, sometimes for a small fee
the Internet!
Monitoring and Evaluation

Closely related to market research is the issue of how we monitor
and evaluate our awareness-raising campaign. Earlier in this
chapter we talked about accountability; specifically but not
exclusively in relation to funds provided by government or civil
society. It is almost impossible for stakeholders to demonstrate that
a campaign has been effective unless some form of monitoring and
evaluation is undertaken. Assessing the relative success of our
campaign means being able to plot a level of improvement from
point A (the start of the campaign) to point B (the end of the
campaign), and possibly also out to point C; well beyond the scope
of the original campaign.
The "Pink Book" recommends that "evaluation should be built in

from the start, not tacked on to the end of a program."27 This will
generally mean ensuring that at least some quantitative measures
and qualitative indicators are included in the campaign plan.
Sometimes it may be appropriate to include only one type of
assessment: for example, quantitative data relating to the reach of
the campaign - 'x' number of people with access to radio or
television in this province or region.
27 http://www.cancer.gov/pinkbook/ (accessed 10 March 2006)
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Whatever measures or indicators are eventually included in our
campaign plan, by allowing for monitoring and evaluation we
enable ourselves to (1) identify what approaches are working (and
why) and (2) demonstrate the value of the campaign to
stakeholders.
Using a Planning Template

Having considered your campaign's goals, central message and
target audience through techniques such as brainstorming, focus
groups and market research, a simple planning process should then
commence documenting in writing the following information:
1. Campaign name or title
2. Campaign coordinators - those stakeholders directly
responsible for the delivery of the campaign
3. Scope or overview of the campaign, including issues to be
addressed, any particular focus that the campaign should
have, and a simple summary of the purpose of the
campaign. A broad situation analysis including obstacles and
enablers may also enhance understanding of the need for the
campaign.
4. Desired goal(s) and objectives, particularly any changes to
awareness (knowledge), behaviours or beliefs
5. Campaign message - strictly speaking, the campaign
message is a component of the communication strategy.
However, in planning our campaign, the central message
should be made to stand out clearly. This after all is the
message that we will be communicating!
6. Target audience(s) - primary, and where necessary,
secondary. As with the campaign message, the target
audience is normally recorded in the communication
strategy. Once again though, describing the audience
effectively is pivotal to our campaign and this information
should be obvious to all.
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7. Communication strategy - approaches and techniques
(actions) for communicating the message effectively, including
emphasis where appropriate on language, tone, style, content
level and audience reach. Here it is also appropriate to
document the source of authority to deliver the campaign.
8. Campaign management, including:
Budget and resources
Timeframe for delivery
Responsibility for delivery
9. Monitoring and assessment - how will we determine success?
It is appropriate although not always necessary to consider
both (1) quantifiable measures and (2) qualitative indicators.
The information decided in points 1 to 9 can be recorded in a

variety of ways although the use of a structured outline or template
is recommended, at least for those new to awareness-raising. A
template serves as a prompt to memory and ensures that nothing
critical to the success of the campaign is overlooked.
Consider now the blank "Awareness-Raising Campaign Plan Template"

provided in appendix 2. This document may be copied and used as a
resource in planning future awareness-raising campaigns.
In addition, for each approach used in the communication strategy

it is also advisable to develop a short accompanying action plan
(figure 6) that documents in greater detail:
The action - for example, organising a training workshop or
online course in teaching Information Literacy
Desired outcomes
The group or individual with responsibility for that specific
action
The target date or timeframe for completion or implementation
Resources required to implement the action
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Figure 6: Campaign Action Plan Template
Communication Strategy: Name of Campaign:
Education "Teaching Information Literacy is fun!"
Action (describe in detail) To design, write and deliver an

online professional development
course in teaching Information
Literacy to children under the age
of 12
The course will be delivered via
the Internet using web pages, file
downloads of lesson planning
templates and reading materials,
email contacts with lecturers and
chat-room 'tutorials'
The course will be designed for
completion in no more than six
hours of continuous learning
The intended target audiences
will be teachers and librarians
Outcomes Enhanced understanding of the

principles of Information Literacy
and their application in the
classroom
Ability to teach Information Literacy
to children under the age of 12
Responsibility Manager, Online Training Team,

Faculty of Education Studies,
University of the Indian Ocean

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Communication Strategy: Name of Campaign:
Education "Teaching Information Literacy is fun!"
Timeframe Completion by the second week

of the first school term
Resources Online course writer and Internet
developer (40 hours)
Access to the Internet for all
participants
Lecturing and tutorial staff
(20 hours)
Further Reading
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(2005) Campaign for the World's libraries,
http://www.ifla.org/@yourlibrary/create-campaign.htm
International Food Information Centre (2006) Tools for effective

communications, http://www.ific.org/tools/intro.cfm
National Cancer Institute (2001) Making health communication

programs work: a planner's guide (revised edition), Bethesda, MD,
http://www.cancer.gov/pinkbook (accessed 18 March 2006)
National Disaster Education Coalition (2004) Talking about

disaster: A guide for standard messages, Washington,
D.C., http://www.disastereducation.org/guide.html
Robinson, L. (1998) The seven doors social marketing approach,

http://media.socialchange.net.au/strategy/ (accessed 14 March 2006)
Social Marketing Institute (2006) Social marketing,

http://www.social-marketing.org/sm.html (accessed 18 March 2006)
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Chapter 3: Approaches
to Awareness-Raising
In this chapter:
Props, cues and recognition
Personal communication
Mass communication
Education
Advocacy
Public influence and involvement
Avoiding propaganda
"If we could reach out to communities before disasters and

inform them of what to do 'just in case', impacts could be
reduced dramatically."28
In chapter two, we noted that effective awareness-raising

campaigns use a mix of communication approaches and
techniques (strategies) to ensure their central messages are received
and understood by diverse target audiences. In the fields of public
health and disaster management it is widely accepted that
"mitigation of hazard impact and vulnerability through education
and awareness-raising has had to treat communities and
population groups as separate targets for information."29 Separate
28 http://www.unep.org/tsunami/apell_tsunamis.pdf (accessed 1 February 2006)

29 http://www.ema.gov.au/agd/ema/rwpattach.nsf/viewasattachmentPersonal/
4A2515985EBB9878CA256EB6001BB717/$file/AJEM%2025-29%20May04web-
6.pdf (accessed 1 February 2006)
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target audiences will almost certainly require separate approaches
to awareness-raising.
In addition to promoting awareness and changing behaviours and

beliefs, the mix of strategies employed should also:
Provide information (content) that reinforces the credibility of
the campaign message;
Stimulate discussion and information-sharing at the
community and ideally national level; and,
Inspire local innovations, particularly by those directly affected
by the subject of the campaign.
Figure 7: Inspiring local innovations
The choice or mix of specific approaches comprising our

communication strategy will be guided by a number of
considerations, including:
The extent of reach required in our awareness-raising
campaign
The relative simplicity or complexity of the messages and
content to be presented
Our knowledge of the target audiences, particularly their
demographic, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics
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The availability of communication infrastructure and
community preferences - for example, radio over television
The availability of resources - financial, material and human
Those planning an awareness-raising campaign for the first time

may be surprised by the variety of potential approaches and
techniques available to them. There is certainly no lack of choice
when it comes to preparing a communications strategy. The Internet
in particular is constantly providing social marketers with new
opportunities: for example, the rapid growth of Web Logs, more
commonly known as 'blogs'.
The more commonly used approaches may be grouped into five

broad categories, with each describing its primary approach or
emphasis:
1. Personal communication
2. Mass communication
3. Education
4. Public Relations (PR)
5. Advocacy
Props, Cues and Recognition

It is important to note that many approaches benefit from the use
of physical props and other visual or auditory cues to reinforce
the campaign message. The National Disaster Education
Coalition recommends the use of "photos or drawings for print
materials, soundtracks for radio presentations, videos for
television, and aids like videos, posters, Disaster Supplies Kit
items, and mock-ups to make presentations interactive."30 The
public health awareness campaign addressing infant diarrhea in
30 http://www.disastereducation.org/guide.html (accessed 1 February 2006)
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45
Honduras made extensive use of props and visual cues in the
initial education phase:
"The campaign began by providing 900 health care
workers with four to eight hours of ORT [oral rehydration
therapy] training. The training program concentrated on
teaching the proper mixing and administration of ORT
salts and instructing other village assistants, who would
ultimately have to conduct the same exercises directly with
rural families. Using props and training dummies, the
program trainees repeatedly practiced each step of the
mixing and administration processes. The health workers
and village trainees then began instructing mothers and
grandmothers in ORT and other health behaviors such as
breastfeeding, infant food preparation and person
hygiene. When rural families completed their ORT
training, a flag was posted at their house to let other
mothers in the area know where they could obtain health
advice and instruction."31
The giving of flags and other culturally appropriate rewards or

means of recognition are useful techniques for inspiring others to
embrace the campaign and its message or messages.
Remember:
Depending on the circumstances of the campaign, an effective
communications strategy should ideally incorporate a mix of one or
two approaches from at least three of the five broad categories.
31 http://www.social-marketing.org/success/cs-massmedia.html
(accessed 16 march 2005)
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Acitivity: Reinforcing the Message of Information
Literacy
Consider for a moment what physical props or sensory cues might
be helpful in raising awareness about Information Literacy in your
local community. An example might be to invite a respected local
professional, perhaps a doctor or lawyer, to speak about the
importance of finding and using up-to-date information in their
daily work.
Try listing and describing five props or cues for raising awareness of
Information Literacy in your community:
1. ____________________
2. ____________________
3. ____________________
4. ____________________
5. ____________________
Personal Communication
As experienced social marketers are aware, a personal approach is
often the most effective means of selling a good idea, particularly if
the approach comes from, or is sponsored by, an individual or
organisation with recognised credibility: for example, a civil society
organisation such as UNESCO or the World Bank.
Personal communication helps to make the audience feel more

connected with the message of the campaign and understand
the significance of that message in relation to their life
and work.
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Examples of personal communication might include:
Community and stakeholder meetings
Public forums, presentations and workshops
Social events - for example, a festival for families or a dance
organised for young people
In societies and cultures where oral traditions dominate, role
plays, performances of specially composed stories, songs,
dances, plays and poems
Word of mouth - person to person
Mass Communication
While personal communication tends to be the most effective
means of raising awareness of issues in smaller communities, it is
not always the most efficient strategy for communicating a message
widely. To achieve this, we must rely on mass communication
through the 'mass media'.
Examples of mass media communication include:

Printed materials - for example, billboards, brochures,
cartoons, comics, pamphlets, posters and resource books
Audiovisual resources - for example, pre-recorded cassettes,
videos, CDs and DVDs
Websites, email discussion lists, Web Logs (blogs) and RSS
news feeds
Media interviews, feature articles and announcements in
newspapers, magazines and electronic publications
accessible via the Internet
Media interviews and news items on local radio and television
Broadcast SMS messages to mobile telephones and personal
digital assistants (PDAs)
A 2006 report published in the United Kingdom examined the

'media literacy' of adults, including people with disabilities
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and those from different cultural traditions. The report
concluded that "television remains the most familiar, and
popular, media platform for most people". 32 It is found that
mobile telephone technology is fast eclipsing traditional mass
media - for example, newspapers - in key markets such as
young people:
"Mobiles are a ubiquitous media technology for the 16-24

age group. Younger people have embraced the enhanced
functionality of mobile phones, whilst for older users they
remain predominantly communications tools. However,
the use of the mobile as a 'memory device' to look back at
stored texts and pictures is commonplace for all age
groups."33
Like mobile telephones and SMS, blogs and RSS news feeds are
relatively recent innovations but have the potential to greatly assist
awareness-raising campaigns in regions and communities where
the Internet is available in local schools and libraries, if not private
homes.
An excellent blog for keeping up-to-date on Information Literacy is

maintained by Sheila Webber and Stuart Boon using the free
"Blogger" system owned and supported by Google -
http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/ Sheila and Stuart aim to
provide readers with "news and reports about information literacy
around the world".34
32 Ofcom (2006) Media literacy audit: report on adult media literacy,

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/medialit_a
udit/ (accessed 16 March 2006)
33 Ibid
34http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16 March 2006)
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RSS or 'Really Simple Syndication' is a method of summarising the
latest news and information from a website in a lightweight form that
can be easily read online using news reader or news aggregator
software. The aim of RSS is to give users the ability to quickly obtain
the latest news and updates from a website in a headline or news
digest format. CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information
Professionals in the United Kingdom maintains a useful FAQ page on
RSS at http://www.cilip.org.uk/aboutRSS
Education
As we have seen in chapters one and two, raising awareness about
an issue or topic does not necessarily lead to lasting changes in
behaviours and beliefs. For our campaign to achieve long-term
benefits we should also consider how to provide our audience or
audiences with the skills and incentives to change.
Common approaches to education in awareness-raising include:

Train the trainer workshops and programs
Formal and informal educational programs presented in local
schools, colleges, adult learning centres and libraries
Enhanced information literacy skills, thereby enabling more
effective information finding and use within communities
Static and travelling exhibitions and displays
Library collections
Training in presentation and media skills
As UNESCO's Memory of the World Program reminds us in relation

to our documentary heritage, "education plays a crucial role in
raising awareness".35 The same may be said of environmental,
public health and disaster management awareness where education
35 http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm/administ/en/MOW_fin9.html (accessed
6 March 2006)
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clearly "accelerates the progress of societies toward disaster
resilience."36 This occurs for two simple reasons: (1) children
eventually grow into adults, with the capacity to apply the
knowledge they have learned at school, and (2) the process of
education itself tends to continue long after the initial awareness-
raising campaign has concluded.
Two types of education are relevant to awareness-raising

campaigns:
1. Formal education - content and skills that are included in
school curricula and taught in the context of local issues
and needs
2. Informal education - workshops, presentations and other
approaches designed primarily to impart information and
skills to adults
Education and Information Literacy

An increasingly important educational approach involves promoting
and teaching information literacy skills within communities, often
starting with children in schools. By focusing on how our target
audience or audiences typically find, use and communicate
information it is possible to prepare and present awareness-raising
information that is better suited to their preferences; and thus more
likely to be accepted and understood. Ideas for promoting
information literacy concepts and skills are provided in chapter six.
Developing the Information Literacy skills of children in the first instance

is an important strategy. As we shall see in chapter four, children are
recognised the world over to be very effective communicators. What is
learned by children at school tends to be taken home and
36 http://www.unesco.org/science/earth/disaster/apell_schools.pdf
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communicated to family and friends. In this way, children themselves
become very credible educators, helping to shape and change
behaviours and beliefs within their families and communities:
"Many people, especially the elderly, say they prefer to
learn media skills from family and friends and do so by
themselves rather than in formal groups."37

Public Relations or 'PR' deals broadly with activities designed to
establish and maintain the reputation or credibility of the
awareness-raising campaign. The Chartered Institute of Public
Relations in Britain describes PR as "the planned and sustained effort
to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding
between an organisation [awareness-raising campaign] and its
publics [audience and stakeholders]."38
Examples of useful PR might include regular briefings for the media

on the progress of the campaign and stakeholder meetings for
government agencies and other organisations involved with
facilitating and supporting the campaign. Celebrity spokespeople
will often provide very effective PR opportunities. An excellent
example in Sri Lanka is the support provided to the Autism
Awareness Campaign by local entertainer Desmond de Silva.39
Ultimately, PR is about ensuring that the campaign is perceived

positively and that its message - however this may be communicated -
is received by its target audience with an open and receptive mind.
37 Ofcom (2006) Media literacy audit: report on adult media literacy,

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/medialit_a
udit/ (accessed 16 March 2006)
38 http://www.ipr.org.uk/ (accessed 16 February 2006)
39 http://autism_srilanka.tripod.com/ (accessed 16 February 2006)
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Advocacy
Advocacy and lobbying efforts are sometimes overlooked when
planning awareness-raising campaigns but can be vital to ensuring
ongoing support from governments and civil society organisations.
Examples of advocacy and lobbying include:

Forming strategic alliances and partnerships with government,
civil society and commercial organisations
Meeting with politicians at all levels of government but
focusing on ministers and other officials with the authority and
power to provide resources
Cultivating political 'champions'
In the United States, school libraries are fortunate to have as their

champion the First Lady, Laura Bush. She is quoted as saying,
"school Libraries help teachers teach and children learn."40 This
message is a powerful endorsement of school libraries and
particularly the important contribution they make to Information
Literacy in the United States.
Public Influence and Involvement

Every awareness-raising campaign requires some measure of public
involvement to be effective, and may in turn be subject to public
influence. Deciding how much of each - involvement and influence
- is desirable or acceptable is a critical decision point for campaign
planners.
For example, the cooperation of an influential community leader

may be necessary to ensure the successful communication of our
message to a specific target audience. This leader in turn however
40 http://www.iasl-slo.org/ (accessed 16 March 2006)
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may seek to bargain their cooperation into a stake in the message
itself in order to advance their own political agenda or that of a
third party.
The possibility that an awareness-raising campaign could be turned

to propaganda is real and should be guarded against. That said, it
may be argued that every campaign contains an element of
propaganda anyway. This may not be a problem, however, if there is
broad consensus within the community or society about the content.
The real danger of undue public influence and involvement is that

it may side-track or, worse still, compromise an awareness-raising
campaign in the eyes of the audience at which it is targeted. The
credibility of any campaign is vital to its success.
Defining and Avoiding Propaganda

Propaganda in its purest form is simply "information that is spread
for the purpose of promoting some cause".41 We can go further
though to describe it as "specific type of message presentation
directly aimed at influencing the opinions of people, rather than
impartially providing information."42 Propaganda also typically
carries political overtones.
It is important to realise that in various cultures the term

propaganda has neutral or even positive connotations. In some
Spanish-speaking countries of South America we are told that
propaganda is commonly associated with 'advertising', and not
usually in a negative way. In North American and European cultures
however, propaganda is generally perceived as a strongly negative
phenomenon.
41 http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn (accessed 1 February 2006)

42 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda (accessed 15 March 2006)
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Many people understand propaganda to be about disseminating false
or misleading information. Strictly speaking though, a message does
not have to be untrue to qualify as propaganda; it may simply omit so
many relevant facts or truths that it becomes highly misleading. As in
social marketing, propaganda aims to influence attitudes and
behaviours rather than simply communicate information. The key
difference however is that propaganda will typically attempt to evoke a
strong and potentially irrational emotional reaction, whether through
calculated 'mis-information' or appeals to underlying prejudices.
Propaganda can be presented in many forms but is generally most

effectively communicated in printed leaflets, posters, and television and
radio broadcasts. Propagandists were also early adopters of the Internet
as a cheap yet highly effective means to promulgate and promote
political messages through websites and email discussion lists.
To avoid propaganda, it is helpful to be able to identify some of its

more obvious characteristics. Be alert to the following common
propaganda techniques:
Exploitation of latent fear or mistrust within a community or
society
Constant repetition - repeating misinformation will generally
result in it being believed, or at the very least, remembered!
So-called "black and white" choices - there is no middle
ground for compromise
Direct instructions, usually from figures of perceived authority
Intentionally vague generalities
Spurious rationalisation - we do this 'thing' because 'they' have
done it to us in the past
Deliberate oversimplification of the message and the 'facts'
Association with positive and/or authoritative images and
symbols for example, the national flag or anthem
Negative stereotyping of particular groups and cultures
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The following observations on propaganda in the age of the Internet
have been extracted from the website "propagandacritic.com" and
are the work of Aaron Delwiche, an academic in the Department of
Communication at Trinity University.
Reading: Why think about propaganda?

As Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson point out, "every day we
are bombarded with one persuasive communication after another.
These appeals persuade not through the give-and-take of
argument and debate, but through the manipulation of symbols
and of our most basic human emotions. For better or worse, ours
is an age of propaganda." (Pratkanis and Aronson, 1991)
With the growth of communication tools like the Internet, the flow
of persuasive messages has been dramatically accelerated. For
the first time ever, citizens around the world are participating in
uncensored conversations about their collective future. This is a
wonderful development, but there is a cost.
The information revolution has led to information overload, and

people are confronted with hundreds of messages each day.
Although few studies have looked at this topic, it seems fair to
suggest that many people respond to this pressure by processing
messages more quickly and, when possible, by taking mental
short-cuts.
Propagandists love short-cuts particularly those which short-

circuit rational thought. They encourage this by agitating
emotions, by exploiting insecurities, by capitalizing on the
ambiguity of language, and by bending the rules of logic. As
history shows, they can be quite successful.43
43 http://www.propagandacritic.com/articles/intro.why.html
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Credibility
There is acknowledged to be a direct correlation between the
level of credibility of information (and those that communicate it)
and the degree of positive influence that it exerts on a
community. The higher the level of credibility, the greater the
degree of positive influence; and behavioural change, if that is
the desired outcome.
In a 2004 report on weather reporting in remote Australian

Indigenous communities, Douglas Goudie of James Cook
University notes that:
"People tend to respond to perceived fairness as much or
more than they respond to apparent objectivity. If the
goals of the communicator [Australian Bureau of
Meteorology] are seen to serve a common interest with
high social values people are more likely to trust the
embedded messages. In the end the sources don't
necessarily have to be liked. It's the actual positive and
understood outcomes of the communication message
which matter the most."44
Remember:
It is important when planning an awareness-raising campaign to
ensure that the central message is not sidetracked or, worse still,
compromised in the eyes of the audience at which it is targeted.
The credibility of any campaign is vital to its success.
44 http://www.tesag.jcu.edu.au/CDS/reports/Gou_IWWRpt/03%20overview%20a.pdf
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Further Reading
Chartered Institute of Public Relations, http://www.ipr.org.uk/
Information Literacy Weblog, http://information-

literacy.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16 March 2006)
National Cancer Institute (2001) Making health communication

programs work: a planner's guide (revised edition), Bethesda, MD,
http://www.cancer.gov/pinkbook (accessed 18 March 2006)

disaster: A guide for standard messages, Washington, D.C.,
http://www.disastereducation.org/guide.html
Propaganda Critic, http://www.propagandacritic.com/

Youth Action for Peace (2004) Training on Awareness Raising,

Public Relations and Lobbying: Final Report,
http://www.coe.int/T/E/cultural_co-
operation/Youth/2004%20_YAP_SSReport_awareness_raising_
PR.pdf (accessed 14 March 2006)
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Chapter 4: Awareness-
Raising for Special
Audiences
In this chapter:
Principles of adult learning
Awareness-raising and children
When stakeholders are planning awareness-raising campaigns, it

is absolutely critical that audiences with special needs are not
overlooked. Audiences that might typically require special
consideration include:
Aged members of the community
Those with infirmities and physical or psychological disabilities
- for example, blindness or autism
People challenged by learning difficulties, illiteracy or limited
access to education
Adult learners
Children
Raising awareness within special audiences need not be an onerous

or expensive undertaking as simple and cost-effective solutions are
often available. For example, communicating a message to people
with blindness or vision impairments might be as simple as ensuring
that the awareness-raising strategy includes radio broadcasts, so
the message can be heard rather than read. Alternatively, printed
materials can be reproduced in Braille or recorded onto tapes or
compact discs for later playback. Similarly, those with hearing
problems will benefit from pamphlets, posters and the simple
inclusion of a signing interpreter at public meetings and forums,
and in television broadcasts.
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Again, as we established in chapter three, a mix of communication
approaches ensures that the central message of our awareness-
raising campaign is received and understood by a range of diverse
target audiences, including those with special needs.
Principles of Adult Learning

While not appearing to have special needs, mature adults typically
receive and process new ideas differently to children and young
adults. Much if not all of what an adult learns is consciously framed
in the context of their life experience. Awareness-raising campaigns
should therefore take into account the basic principles of adult
learning.
As a rule, adult learners are differentiated from younger learners by

the following characteristics:
They make their own choices in life and are thus generally
more self-directed and motivated to learn
They have their own ideas about what is important to learn
They will be more concerned about the effective use of their
time, particularly their learning time
They will bring unique life experiences to the learning process
and seek to relate these experiences to newly acquired
knowledge and skills
Their motivation to learn is more likely to be focused on solving
a real-world problem or meeting a personal or professional need
Adults are far more likely to reject or rationalise information
that contradicts their own life experiences or beliefs
Thus, when planning education and training programs for adults

there are some important guiding principles that should be followed.
These principles include:
Ensure that adult learners will find the learning experience
rewarding
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Provide a mix of approaches to ensure that adult learners can
see, hear and do when they learn
Find ways for adult learners to relate new information and
skills to their existing knowledge and experience
Provide opportunities for adult learners to practice new skills
and apply new knowledge
Ensure adult learners are provided with plenty of constructive
feedback and that they in turn have some opportunity to
guide the learning process
Remember that most adult learners will recall most vividly the
first and last things they learn in a workshop or course -
regular summaries are necessary therefore to ensure that
learning is retained45
Awareness-Raising and Children

At the other end of the age spectrum, children will often form an
important target audience for awareness-raising campaigns
because they are recognised to be "influential and effective
communicators".46 In all societies and cultures, what is learned by
children at school tends to be later communicated to those at home
and even their extended family networks.
Figure 8: Children communicate to family

messages learned at school
45 Adapted from http://www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au/resources/adult_learners.htm

46 http://www.unesco.org/science/earth/disaster/apell_schools.pdf
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Communicating with children is also significant in that they process
information and experiences differently to adults, particularly events that are
traumatic or troubling, and are more likely to suffer long-term
psychological upset if the correct approaches and techniques are not used.
In deciding on the appropriate communication approaches for

children, it is important to take into consideration their age,
language abilities, level of schooling and wider interests:
"Effective communication with children requires communication
styles and behavior appropriate to the age of the child.
Understanding how children of different ages communicate
and what they like to talk about is crucial for rewarding
interaction with them. Adults must communicate in a way that
relates to the age and interests of the child."47
Although the subject of communicating with children is undeniably

complex, there are some golden rules that awareness-raising
campaigners can follow in developing their communication strategies:
Keep the message short and simple - this will make it easier
for children of all ages to understand and as with adults,
reduce the risk of misunderstanding
Ensure that the message communicated is honest and
transparent - older children in particular are more
discriminating than many adults realise and are just as likely
as their parents to detect if a message is false or incomplete
Provide information content that is appropriate to all ages of
children and projects a positive outlook
Ensure the content contains easily understood examples and
'mind pictures' that will help children to 'visualise' the message
and describe it to others such as their family and friends
47 http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/hesguide/humanrel/gh6123.htm
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Never dismiss or diminish questions from children - rather,
they should be welcomed as a sign that the child has received
and at least partially understood the campaign message
Follow up regularly with new messages and information
around the original theme, potentially every six months or
school semester - repetition and novelty are crucial to
ensuring that the message stays with children
The following advice in relation to talking to children about disasters

is reprinted with thanks to the National Disaster Education Coalition.
Reading: Talking to Children About Disasters

You should not worry that talking about disasters will make
children fearful. On the contrary, children are usually more
frightened by what is whispered or not mentioned aloud than by
matter-of-fact discussion. Let children speak freely about what
scares or puzzles them - for example, "What will happen to my
puppy if we have to evacuate?" "If there's a flood and I'm at
school, I won't be able to find you." Try to answer questions and
address concerns with concrete, easy-to-follow information.
When helping children learn how to prepare for, respond safely
during, and recover from a disaster, it is important to adapt your
discussions, instructions, and practice drills to their skills and
abilities. Be aware that young children can easily confuse messages
such as "drop, cover, and hold on" (response during an earthquake)
and "stop, drop, and roll" (response if your clothes catch on fire).
Tell children that a disaster is something that happens that could
hurt people, cause damage, or cut off utilities, such as water,
telephones, or electricity. Explain to them that nature sometimes
provides "too much of a good thing" - fire, rain, wind, snow. Talk
about typical effects of disasters that children can relate to, such
as loss of electricity, water, and telephone service.
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Reading: Talking to Children About Disasters (contd..)
Give examples of several disasters that could happen in your
community. Help children recognize the warning signs for each.
Discussing disaster ahead of time reduces fear and anxiety and
lets everyone know how to respond.
Be prepared to answer children's questions about scary things that
they have heard about or seen on television, such as terrorist
attacks. Give constructive information about how they can be
prepared to protect themselves.
Tell children that in a disaster there are many people who can
help them. Talk about ways that an emergency manager,
American Red Cross volunteer, police officer, firefighter,
teacher, neighbor, doctor, or utility worker might help after a
disaster.
Teach children to call your out-of-town contact in case they are
separated from the family and cannot reach family members in an
emergency. Tell them, "If no one answers, leave a voice message
if possible and then call the alternative contact." Help them
memorize the telephone numbers, and write them down on a
card that they can keep with them.
Quiz your children every six months so they will remember where
to meet, what phone numbers to call, and safety rules.
Explain that when people know what to do and practice in
advance, everyone is able to take care of themselves better in
emergencies.
By including all members of your household - regardless of age -
in disaster preparedness discussions, you will emphasize each
person's importance as a member of the safety team.
48 http://www.disastereducation.org/Talking_to_Children.html (accessed 1 February 2006)
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Further Reading
Brookfield, S. (1986) Understanding and facilitating adult
learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Elgin, S. H. (1996) The gentle art of communicating with kids,

New York: John Wiley
Malouf, D. (1994) How to teach adults in a fun and exciting way,

Chatswood, NSW: Business and Publishing

disaster: A guide for standard messages, Washington, D.C.,
http://www.redcross.org/email/test/disasterguide/standardmsg.htm
l (accessed 19 March 2006)
Strasburger, V. C. (2002) Children, adolescents, and the media,

London: Sage
Tennant, M. (2005) Psychology and adult learning (3rd Ed),

London: Routledge
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Chapter 5: Information
Literacy - Setting
the Scene
In this chapter:
What is Information Literacy?
Why is Information Literacy important?
Bridging the 'digital divide'
Information Literacy and awareness-raising
"The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information

also pose large challenges for society. Sheer abundance of
information and technology will not in itself create more
informed citizens without a complementary understanding
and capacity to use information effectively."49
In chapter three, we explored the five broad types of communication

strategies: personal communication, mass communication,
education, public relations and advocacy. An increasingly important
educational approach involves promoting and teaching information
literacy skills within communities, starting with children in schools.
What is Information Literacy?

Information Literacy may be defined very simply as "the ability to
access, evaluate and use information from a variety of sources."50
49 http://www.anu.edu.au/caul/info-literacy/InfoLiteracyFramework.pdf
50 Pradeepa Wijetunge and U.P. Alahakoon (2005) "Empowering 8: the Information
Literacy model developed in Sri Lanka to underpin changing education paradigms of
Sri Lanka", Sri Lanka Journal of Librarianship and Information Management, 1(1), p. 33
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Growing out of this definition, however, are a range of more
specific actions or skills that contribute directly to a more effective
role for information in our personal and professional lives.
Information Literacy may be described therefore as "the ability to

identify, locate, evaluate, organise and effectively create, use
and communicate information to address an issue or a
problem."51
An information-literate person is seen to have the ability to (a)

recognise when they need information, and (b) identify, locate,
evaluate, organise and make effective use of that information to
resolve issues and problems. Also crucial to Information Literacy
are skills in communication, critical thinking and problem
solving.
Importantly, Information Literacy provides the foundation for

lifelong learning which is increasingly viewed as a fundamental
human right:
"Lifelong learning is important because continuous learning
is essential for survival in a changing world. According to
the formula L>C where L is the rate of learning and C is
the rate of change, individuals who are not learning
individuals will be excluded, disadvantaged and will
become disaffected."52
A practical goal for Information Literacy in developing nations is

suggested in a 2002 paper, "Towards a Functional Infoliteracy
Campaign in African States":
51 Ibid, p. 31
52 Pradeepa Wijetunge (2000) "The role of public libraries in the expansion of literacy and
lifelong learning in Sri Lanka", New Library World, 101(1155), p.105
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"Helping to inculcate a lifelong habit of identifying an
information need and efficiently searching for, and using,
indigenous oral, print, electronic and other sources of
information to satisfy that need and thereby enhance
personal, community, and national socio-economic
interests."53
Remember:
Information Literacy is defined as the set of skills required to identify,
find, retrieve, evaluate, use and communicate information from a
variety of sources.
Fourth Dimension to Literacy

The term Information Literacy has been in common use by librarians
and educators since the early 1990s when the rapid growth of the
Internet suggested the need for a fourth dimension to literacy. In her
2002 UNESCO white paper on Information Literacy for citizenship,
Ana Maria Ramalho Correia quotes Linda Langford (1999) on the
need for new skills:
"Reading, writing and arithmetic (the 3R's) are still the basics
of Literacy but additional skills are now required to gain the
advantages of information delivered in different media
through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
and the Internet."54
53 Aiyepeku, W. et al (2002) Towards a functional infoliteracy campaign in African states,

http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/aiyepeku-fullpaper.pdf
54 http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/correia-fullpaper.pdf (accessed 16
February 2006)
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Perhaps the world is ready now for the 4 R's: reading, writing,
arithmetic and research!
UNESCO refers to the importance of Information Literacy in terms

of capacity building: that is, "everybody should have the opportunity
to acquire the skills in order to understand, participate actively in,
and benefit fully from the emerging knowledge societies."55
The 2003 Information Literacy Meeting of Experts in Prague

identified information literacy as "a powerful community tool that
facilitates access to information and has real impact on its health,
wealth, and well-being."56 Furthermore, "information literacy efforts
will work best if they are applied at the existing community unit level
where needs are best identified".57
In practical terms, the Prague experts suggested that "the starting

point should be to find out what the basic unit of a community is in
each country, and then address its information literacy needs."58
Remember:
Health and natural disasters are considered useful catalysts for
Information Literacy as both are compelling motivators for families
and communities to seek and apply information.
55 http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-
URL_ID=15886&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (accessed 18 March
2006)
56 http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/post-
infolitconf&meet/FinalReportPrague.pdf (accessed 17 February 2006), p. 4
57 Ibid
58 Ibid, p. 12
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Why is Information Literacy important?
For an illustration of the importance of Information Literacy, we
need look no further than the tragic events of 26 December 2004
when countries in South and South East Asia were devastated by
a massive tsunami. Although many tens of thousands of lives were
lost, some were actually saved thanks to the Information Literacy
of one child:
"A ten-year old girl on holiday saved over 100 lives in
Phuket, Thailand, when the tsunami hit in December 2004
because she was information literate. Tilly Smith of
Oxshott, England, having researched tsunamis two weeks
prior to her holiday in geography class, recognized the
early warning signs of an imminent tsunami, and took
action. Because of her ability to use and apply the
knowledge she had learned, the beach was cleared and
no lives were lost."59
Information in the early 21st century is characterised by

overabundance (information overload), unequal distribution, a
strong tendency to triviality, and increasing concerns about
credibility.
For people from non-English speaking cultures there is the added

issue of language as the majority of web content is authored in
idiomatic English. For those in less affluent societies there is also the
growing "digital divide"60 that separates the information-rich from
the information-poor.
59 http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-
URL_ID=20891&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (accessed 18
February 2006)
60 Pippa Norris (2001) Digital Divide? Civic Engagement, Information Poverty and the
Internet Worldwide, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
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In its 2001 "Statement on Information Literacy for all
Australians", the Australian Library and Information Association
emphasised the importance of Information Literacy as a
prerequisite for:
Participative citizenship
Social inclusion
The creation of new knowledge
Personal, vocational, corporate and organisational
empowerment
Lifelong learning
As Tilly Smith proved in December 2004, Information

Literacy may also be a prerequisite for future survival; whether
it is from natural disasters, man-made environmental damage,
or public health issues such as HIV/AIDS, SARS or Avian
Influenza.
Bridging the Digital Divide

Information Literacy has been identified by civil society and
governments as a potentially effective means of bridging the digital
divide by providing people with the skills to (1) know when they
need information and (2) locate it effectively and efficiently from a
variety of sources.
Internet access is often used as an indicator of the digital divide

with the divergence between industrialised and developing
nations becoming more acute each year. Although an imperfect
measure, particularly in Asia where countries like Singapore
and China skew the results, the worldwide distribution of
Internet users serves to illustrate the breadth and depth of the
global divide.
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Figure 9: Internet Users - Worldwide Distribution
Africa Middle East

1% 1%
Latin America
6% Europe
31%
Canada & USA
30%
Asia/Pacific
(including Australia and
New Zealand)
31%
Source: Nielsen/NetRatings 2002
To complicate the problem, in 1997, an American writer - David

Shenk - famously described the problem of information overload
and referred to it as "data smog".61 The challenges of data smog
identified by Shenk and others include:
The growing amount of information we must assimilate and
process
The rapid speed with which information comes to us from
multiple sources - too much, too fast!
The increasing need to make complicated decisions quickly
Feelings of general anxiety that we are making these decisions
without all of the available information
Our normal response is described by Mike Eisenberg and Bob

Berkowitz in their introduction to "The Big 6", a popular Information
Literacy model:
61 http://www.davidshenk.com/ (accessed 16 March 2006)
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"One solution to the information problem-the one that
seems to be most often adopted in schools (as well as in
business and society in general)-is to speed things up. We
try to pack in more and more content, to work faster to get
more done. But, this is a losing proposition. Speeding
things up can only work for so long. Instead, we need to
think about helping students to work smarter, not faster.
There is an alternative to speeding things up. It's the
smarter solution - one that helps students develop the skills
and understandings they need to find, process, and use
information effectively. This smarter solution focuses on
process as well as content. Some people call this smarter
solution information literacy or information skills
instruction."62
Information Literacy should not be viewed as a panacea for

information overload, but it does provide a suite of vital 21st-century
survival skills that enable individuals and groups to recognise their
need for information and create strategies to find and use it
effectively. This is the underlying power of Information Literacy and
the means by which we all hope the digital divide between
information-rich and information-poor will eventually be bridged.
Remember:
Information literacy has been identified as a practical solution to
both the digital divide and data smog by providing people with the
skills to know when they need information and how to locate it
effectively and efficiently.
62 http://www.big6.com/showarticle.php?id=16 (accessed 17 March 2006)
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Information Literacy and Awareness-raising
As a result of data smog, we all see and hear a multitude of
messages each day. The difficulty is deciding which messages we
should pay attention to and what accompanying information is to
be believed.
Awareness-raising campaigns therefore must work to overcome

public cynicism while competing with a range of other messages in
order to be noticed.
Part of the solution, as we have already seen, is to develop a well-

researched communication strategy that acknowledges our target
audience and incorporates a mix of approaches and techniques.
Communication though is a two-way process and more can be

achieved if individuals and communities are provided with the skills
to assess and make more effective use of the information they
receive. This is Information Literacy in practice!
Further Reading
American Library Association (2006) Introduction to Information Literacy,
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/infolitoverview/introtoinf
olit/introinfolit.htm (accessed 19 March 2006)
http://www.big6.com/ (accessed 17 March 2006)
Norris, P. (2001) Digital Divide? Civic engagement, information

poverty and the Internet worldwide, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Shenk, D. (1998) Data Smog: surviving the information glut

(Revised Ed), San Francisco: Harper Collins
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Chapter 6: Raising
Awareness of
Information Literacy
In this chapter:
Models of Information Literacy
The Big 6
Seven Pillars
Empowering Eight
Promoting Information Literacy
International Information Literacy Resources Directory
A variety of useful models have been developed across the world to

help understand, explain and raise public awareness of Information
Literacy. The majority of these models have been developed for use in
schools and universities where awareness-raising in Information
Literacy is felt to have the most impact and the best chance of success.
One of the most popular Information Literacy models is "The Big 6",
developed in the United States by two librarians, Mike Eisenberg and
Bob Berkowitz. The Big 6 is described by its authors as a problem-solving
approach to teaching information and technology skills. In simple terms,
the Big 6 model comprises six key steps or stages of problem solving,
under each of which are grouped two sub-steps or components:
1. Task Definition
1.1 Define the information problem
1.2 Identify information needed
2. Information-Seeking Strategies
2.1 Determine all possible sources
2.2 Select the best sources
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3. Location and Access
3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
3.2 Find information within sources
4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)
4.2 Extract relevant information
5. Synthesis
5.1 Organise from multiple sources
5.2 Present the information
6. Evaluation
6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)63
The Big 6 is a simple model to understand and promote. It is also

supported by a very useful website - http://www.big6.com/ - that
provides access to a wealth of resources, links and sample lesson
plans for teaching Information Literacy in schools and universities.
Promotional resources available from the Big 6 website include free

handouts for adults and children that can be downloaded and
printed: http://www.big6.com/files/Big6Handouts.pdf
The Big 6 model has arguably two drawbacks however. Firstly, the
majority of resources and examples relate to schools and projects in
the United States. Secondly, and less significant perhaps, the Big 6
is a commercial product and thus subject to copyright and
trademark protection. The authors provide for limited "educational,
non-profit use of the Big 6 provided that recognition is properly and
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duly noted."64 Permission to use the Big 6 will not be granted for
commercial purposes. Some of the more appealing resources -
bookmarks for example - must also be purchased via the website.
The Seven Pillars Model of Information Literacy

In 1999, the Information Skills Taskforce of the Standing
Conference of National and University Libraries in the United
Kingdom (SCONUL) developed a particularly effective conceptual
model - the "Seven Pillars of Information Literacy".65
Figure 10: SCONUL Seven Pillars Model for

Society of College, National and University Libraries
Reprinted from http://www.sconul.ac.uk/activities/inf_lit/sp/model.html

65 http://www.sconul.ac.uk/activities/inf_lit/sp/model.html (accessed 1 February 2006)
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As with the Big 6, the Seven Pillars model should be viewed as a
progression from basic information literacy skills through to more
sophisticated ways of understanding and using information - the
path from novice to expert. The model provides a practical and
robust framework with which we can identify and examine the skills
an average person in any society across the world requires to be an
active and informed citizen.
The Seven Pillars Model can be divided into two core sets of skills:
1. Knowing how to locate and access information
2. Knowing how to understand and use information
Knowing how to locate and access information

The first four pillars comprise the basic skills required to locate and
access information:
(Pillar 1) Recognise our information need - knowing what is known,
knowing what is not known and identifying the gap
(Pillar 2) Distinguish ways of addressing the gap - knowing which
information sources are likely to satisfy the information need
(Pillar 3) Construct strategies for locating information - in the first
instance, knowing how to develop and refine an effective search strategy
(Pillar 4) Locate and access information - knowing how to access
information sources and search tools to access and retrieve information
Recognise information need

Skills and IT Skills
Distinguish ways of addressing gap
Construct strategies for locating
Information
Locate and access
Literacy
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Knowing how to understand and use information
The remaining three pillars comprise the more advanced skills
necessary to understand and use information effectively:
(Pillar 5) Compare and evaluate - knowing how to assess the
relevance and quality of the information retrieved
(Pillar 6) Organise, apply and communicate - knowing how to
associate new information with old, to take actions or make
decisions, and ultimately how to share the outcomes of these
actions or decisions with others
(Pillar 7) Synthesise and create - knowing how to assimilate information
from a variety of sources for the purpose of creating new knowledge
Compare and evaluate

Basic Library
Organise, apply and communicate
Synthesise and create
The basic skills of information literacy (pillars 1 to 4) are common

to all issues and topics, and may be taught at all levels of education
including informal training programs targeted at adults. The skills
are also reinforced and enhanced by regular use and ongoing
lifelong learning, most often through programs and resources
provided to individuals and communities by libraries.
Remember:
Achieving pillars 1 to 4 is realistic in the majority of societies and cultures
if the core skills are included in the curricula at all levels of education
and opportunities for lifelong learning are provided to adults.
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Achieving pillars 5 to 7 is more challenging, in large part because
of the same diversity that requires a communication mix in
awareness-raising campaigns. For example, every occupation or
profession encompasses a highly specialised expertise and with this
knowledge usually comes a unique language or 'jargon'. If our
information finding and use remains within this known context -
health science for nurses, or bridge construction for engineers - we
should have no difficulty mastering pillars 5 to 7. Once outside this
context, however, we may experience great difficulty understanding
and applying information relating to the law or farming.
There are possible solutions though and these include:

Ensuring there is sufficient general information about a topic
or issue to enhance the understanding of the average
person, regardless of their background, occupation or level
of education
Providing independent information intermediaries (advisers) to
interpret, translate, and where appropriate, re-package
information to better suit specific community needs
Ana Maria Ramalho Correia counsels that "realistic goals must be

set for our information literacy programs and allowances made for
those Information Intermediary activities that enable the average
citizen to understand specialized information and convert it into
knowledge."
Empowering Eight (E8)

In 2004, participants at the International Workshop on Information
Skills for Learning in Colombo, Sri Lanka, helped to develop a new
model of Information Literacy for use in South and South East Asian
countries. The model is called Empowering Eight or "E8" and as the
name suggests, incorporates eight components of finding and using
information:
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Also included in the model are corresponding learning outcomes
for each component: (refer appendix three). These outcomes are
aimed primarily at children in schools but may be adapted for
training adults.
Although appearing at first to reprise the Seven Pillars model,

Empowering Eight is unique in that it recognises "the composite
culture and local conditions"66 in the countries of Asia. In a 2005
paper for the Sri Lanka Journal of Librarianship and Information
Management, Pradeepa Wijetunge and U. P. Alahakoon note: "If an
existing model used in a developed country is imposed [on countries
in Asia], it would be difficult for the stakeholders to understand the
philosophical roots behind the model."67
Figure 11: The components of Empowering Eight
IDENTIFY
APPLY EXPLORE
ASSESS SELECT
PRESENT ORGANISE
CREATE

Sri Lanka", Sri Lanka Journal of Librarianship and Information Management, 1(1), p. 31
67 Ibid
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Empowering Eight is currently being implemented in Sri Lanka by a
national implementation committee. The process of implementation
should serve as a useful model for other countries in the region and
is provided here as a case study in raising awareness about
Information Literacy.
Case Study: Implementing Empowering Eight in Sri Lanka

"Those who participated at the workshop from all key institutions
of Sri Lanka gathered on 23rd December 2004 to discuss the
implementation activities of E8 on different platforms. It was
unanimously decided to formulate a national implementation
committee. Members unanimously agreed that the positions of
Chairperson and Secretary should be with NILIS68 since NILIS was
responsible for organizing the Workshop. Members also agreed
that Prof. Bowden should chair the committee and Mrs. Wijetunge
to be the Secretary. They both accepted the posts.
Members also decided that the National Implementation Committee
(E8 NIC) should have a focus group with a limited number of
members from the key institutions, which will be the stakeholders for
implementing the model; NILIS, School Library Development Unit,
UGC, National Library, Sri Lanka Library Association, National Inst. of
Education, and the commissioner of National Colleges of Education.
It was decided that these focus group members should represent
the interests of their respective institutes and that they should
report the E8 NIC decisions to their institution and vice versa. E8
NIC Focus Group members are encouraged to establish Sub-
Focus Groups within the respective institutions to facilitate
communications and inter-actions. Focus group will meet as and
when necessary to take key decisions regarding promotion and
implementation.
68 NILIS - National Institute of Library and Information Sciences
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It was decided to invite the following to become members of the main
'Empowering 8 National Implementation Committee'. This will meet
to endorse the interim work of the Focus Group and to provide advice
on general policies and strategies relevant at the national level.
1. 8 Provincial Education Directors
2. 8 Provincial Library Coordinators
3. Representative from Faculty of Education, University of Colombo
4. Representative from Faculty of Education, University of Jaffna
5. Representative from Dept. of Education, University of Peradeniya
6. Representative from Dept. of LIS, University of Kelaniya
7. Representative from Sri Lanka Teacher Librarians Association
8. A Principal from Type 1AB school
9. A Principal from Type 1C school
10. A Principal from Type 2 school
11. A Principal from Type 3 school
12. A representative from each NCOE
13. Any other person / persons considered as significant for the
promotion and implementation of 'Empowering 8'."69
Awareness-raising activities of the National Implementation

Committee include:
An official launch of Proceedings of the International Workshop
on Information Skills for Learning and the "E8" logo
A national "Empowering Eight" workshop in Sri Lanka for
school principals and teachers
Translation of the Empowering Eight model into Sinhala and
Tamil, the national languages of Sri Lanka- this approach will
ultimately provide the model with greater reach by ensuring that
information about Empowering Eight and Information Literacy
can be disseminated widely to a range of audiences.

Sri Lanka", Sri Lanka Journal of Librarianship and Information Management, 1(1), p.38
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The Essential Skills and Values for Information
Literacy
To summarise, the essential skills and values required for effective
Information Literacy include:
1. Generic Skills
Problem solving
Collaboration and teamwork
Communication
Critical thinking
2. Information Skills
Information seeking
Information use
Fluency with information and communication technology (ICT)
3. Values and Beliefs

Using information wisely and ethically
Social responsibility and community participation
Promoting Information Literacy

"The goal to which we should mutually pledge ourselves is
to ensuring that all people are well prepared to seek the
truth so that all may experience a better quality of life."70
As with awareness-raising in public health, a variety of approaches

may be used to raise awareness about Information Literacy.
Awareness-raising and promotional efforts around the world to date
have tended to focus on five broad strategies:
1. International policy statements - for example, UNESCO's
Prague Declaration in 2003, "Towards an Information Literate
Society"
70 http://www.ifla.org/III/wsis/High-Level-Colloquium.pdf (accessed 16 March 2006)
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2. Curriculum development for schools, including learning outcomes,
competencies and criteria for evaluation and assessment
3. Professional development and training for academics,
teachers, librarians and others directly involved with teaching
Information Literacy skills
4. Development of Information Literacy teaching and resource
materials, including online and distance learning formats
5. Ongoing international dialogues between Information
Literacy researchers and practitioners through conferences,
workshops and exchange programs - for example, the
"International Workshop on Information Skills for Learning"
held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2004
Overall, it is critical that progress in each area of focus supports

and reinforces development in the others.71 More work however is
needed to lobby national decision makers and build partnerships
with government and civil society.
Priorities for future awareness-raising identified by the 2005 "High Level

Colloquium on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning" include:
Targeting policy makers in order to promote acceptance of
Information Literacy at a national level
Identifying and cultivating high profile Information Literacy
champions outside the library and education professions
Working with civil society organisations such as UNESCO and the
World Bank as partners in the promotion of Information Literacy
Using research to demonstrate the economic and social value
of Information Literacy to communities and societies72
71 Abdelaziz Abib (2004) "Information literacy for lifelong learning", World Library and
Information Congress: 70th IFLA General Conference and Council, p. 4
72 Final Report of the High Level International Colloquium on Information Literacy and
Lifelong Learning, 6 - 9 November 2005,
http://www.infolit.org/International_Colloquium/index.htm (accessed 19 March 2006)
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Case Study: Approaches to Inculcating the Habit of
Reading - the NILAM Reading Programme in Malaysia
NILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca) or "Reading As The Key To
Knowledge" is a reading programme that integrates the various
reading activities carried out in schools. This program, initiated by
the Ministry of Education, is used to consistently persuade
students to read and to instill the reading habit in them. It is one
of the Government's efforts to inculcate the reading culture
among Malaysians.
The programme includes a number of organized and on-going
reading activities carried out in schools. Participants in the
programme are assessed throughout the year. The NILAM
programme comprises recording, recognition and certification of
reading activities. Students record the books they have read into
their Reading Record Books. The teacher verifies the records
made by the students, and certifies that the students have actually
read the books. The assessment of the students' reading progress
continues until the end of their secondary school education. The
NILAM programme was implemented in 1999, and it is
compulsory for all primary and secondary schools in the country.
The aim of the NILAM programme is to inculcate the reading
habit in students by encouraging:
Students to read more extensively and not merely for the
purpose of examinations
Schools to generate creative and innovative ideas to instill
the reading habit in students73
73 Abdul Karim Bin Hj. Ahmad (2004) "Malaysia: Status of School Library
Development", Proceedings: International Workshop on Information Skills for Learning,
Colombo: NILIS, p. 66
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As the NILAM case study suggests, current examples of Information
Literacy promotion tend to revolve around the roles played by schools
and libraries, specifically university, school and public libraries. The
public library in particular is identified in most developed and
developing countries as the "local centre of information, making all
kinds of knowledge and information readily available to its users."74
Examples of library activities for promoting information literacy and

the skills that comprise the various models (Big 6, Seven Pillars,
Empowering Eight etc) include:
Library orientation tours to make prospective information
users feel welcome and promote general awareness of the
information resources and services available to them in their
community.
Library brochures and handouts explaining the key concepts
of information literacy, particularly why it is important to the
local community and society as a whole.
Short classes and tutorials designed to teach the essential
skills of information finding and evaluation (pillars 1-4),
focusing on specific topics or issues of immediate relevance
to the community.
Emphasis on the 'information intermediary' functions of
libraries: for example, packaging and presenting up-to-date
information on infant health and child care to make it more
accessible and usable by first-time mothers.
Emphasis on personalised assistance with the key processes of
finding and accessing information: for example, constructing
search strategies and selecting appropriate resources.
Libraries have the advantage of being able to reinforce the
teaching of Information Literacy skills through the delivery and
74 Pradeepa Wijetunge (2000) "The role of public libraries in the expansion of literacy
and lifelong learning in Sri Lanka", New Library World, 101(1155), p. 107
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cross-promotion of other services such as reading and reference
books for children, and online databases and websites for adults.
As with mainstream literacy, libraries have been particularly
effective at promoting information literacy through "a variety
of non-print media (posters, pictures, cartoons, banners,
films and videos)" that "attract the non-literates to the library
so that they will gradually overcome the fear of literary
environments and want to learn more by improving their
reading and writing skills."75
Libraries are also typically adept at taking advantage of
national and international events and celebrations to promote
their services: for example, Human Rights Day or International
Women's Day. The global "@ your library" campaign co-
sponsored by IFLA and the American Library Association is
also providing opportunities for raising awareness of
Information Literacy in nearly 30 countries.76
Outside libraries, awareness-raising and promotion activities tend

be centred on professional networking projects and the embedding
of Information Literacy in schools. Approaches include:
Introductory guides to Information Literacy prepared by
international and local experts for teachers, librarians and
policy makers. Guides should always provide short and
compelling answers to key questions such as why
(rationales for information literacy), what (definitions),
where (learning locations), and how (issues of pedagogy
and practice).
Development of a modular school curriculum for Information
Literacy that is introduced first in teacher training programs
and then mainstreamed into classrooms.
75 Ibid, p. 108
76 http://www.ifla.org/@yourlibrary/ (accessed 18 March 2006)
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Regional conferences and workshops in Information Literacy
where national authorities share their expertise with colleagues
and thus communities through a process of "cascade training".77
Information Literacy pilot projects designed to empower
communities and provide success stories and case studies for
future programs.
Development of websites and other Internet resources in a
range of languages for teachers, librarians and others critical
to the teaching and promotion of information literacy skills.
Development of a network of national and local information
literacy resource collections for teachers, librarians and the
communities they serve.
Support for translations and adaptations of resources to meet
specific social and cultural needs, such as has been achieved
in Sri Lanka with the translation of Empowering Eight into
Sinhala and Tamil.
Case Study: Promoting Awareness of Information

Literacy in Nepal
"Due to book-based and electronic-based information sources
and services new challenges are emerging. These are: (i) how to
establish linkage between book-based information centres and
electronic telecentres; (ii) how to orient and train the information
users to search, find, analyze and synthesize information for
decision-making; (iii) how to bridge the gap between rural and
urban areas; and (iv) how to develop the network of information
specialists concerned with information literacy issues to share
experiences and information.
77 Abdelaziz Abib (2004) "Information literacy for lifelong learning", World Library and
Information Congress: 70th IFLA General Conference and Council, p. 4,
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla70/papers/116e-Abid.pdf (accessed 18 March 2006)
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Case Study: Promoting Awareness... (Contd.)
Since the representatives of local government, civil society
organizations, political parties [and] donor agencies all participate
in the preparation of village/district profiles, preparation of Periodic
Plans, and determination of development priorities an assessment
of the people's present information literacy capabilities is crucial. It is
also required to orient the people's representatives to improve their
level of information literacy through orientation and training.
5. Suggestions for the Promotion of Information Literacy
5.1. In the Formal Education Sector

(a) Integrate information literacy in the curriculum.
(b) Integrate information literacy component in the library
and information education program.
(c) Orient/train librarians and information professionals in
information literacy to assist the information seekers.
(d) Develop a time-bound strategy to promote information
literacy with machine readable formats (CD-ROM,
Microforms, etc.).
(e) Develop/disseminate standards for promotion of
information literacy and insure their effective
implementation.
(f) Organize seminars/workshops to educate/inform the
policy makers and planners to develop appropriate policy
and programs for promotion of information literacy.
5.2. In the Information Education Sector/Community Level

(a) Orient/train the representatives of local government
about the importance of information literacy.
(b) Orient/train information users on how to increase their
information search and utilization skills.
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(c) Establish a link between the community library/information
centres and the proposed community telecentres to assure
continuity as the government develops support for
information services.
(d) Develop specific courses for rural information and
develop a time-bound action plan to orient/train them.
(e) Since computer literacy and user-friendly computer
software packages are required to promote information
literacy in the context of the globalization process, it is
necessary to look into the existing constraints and
opportunities to develop computer hardware and
software strategies and policy decisions.
(f) Mobilize civil society organizations in the spread and
development of information literacy to support poverty
reduction, promotion of human rights, and good
governance at all levels."78
International Information Literacy Resources

Directory
A useful repository of Information Literacy materials is now available
online at http://www.uv.mx/usbi_ver/unesco
The International Information Literacy Resources Directory has

been designed by the Information Literacy Section of the
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions in
a UNESCO-funded project. The aim of the directory is to enable
the sharing of information literacy experiences and resources
78 Nirmala Shrestha (2002) "Information Literacy for a multipurpose community

telecentre: Nepalese perspectives", White Paper prepared for UNESCO, the U.S.
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on
Information Literacy for use at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague, The
Czech Republic, pp 5-6
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around the world, focusing particularly on country reports,
standards and assessment tools.
Access to the Directory is free and the developers hope that

international participation will enrich the directory so that it can
grow to become a global clearing-house for Information Literacy
resources.
Further Reading
Abid, A. (2004) "Information literacy for lifelong learning", World
Library and Information Congress: 70th IFLA General Conference
and Council, http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla70/papers/116e-Abid.pdf
Aiyepeku, W. et al (2002) "Towards a functional infoliteracy

campaign in African states", White Paper prepared for UNESCO,
the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information
Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for use
at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague,
The Czech Republic,
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/aiyepeku-
fullpaper.pdf (accessed 18 February 2006)
http://www.big6.com/ (accessed 17 March 2006)
Brown, G.; Bowden R.; and Wijetunge, P. (Eds) (2004)

Proceedings: International Workshop on Information Skills for
Learning, Colombo: NILIS
Burkhardt, J. M.; MacDonald, M. C.; and Rathemacher,

A. J. (2005) Creating a comprehensive information literacy plan: a
how-to-do-it manual and CD-ROM for librarians, New York:
Neal-Schuman Publishers
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Chagari, S. (2005) "Information capability building: role of
information literacy programmes - A study", World Library and
Information Congress: 71st IFLA General Conference and
Council, http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla71/papers/043e-Chagari.pdf
Correia, A. (2002) "Information Literacy for an active and

effective citizenship", White Paper prepared for UNESCO, the
U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information
Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for
use at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague,
The Czech Republic,
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/correia-
fullpaper.pdf (accessed 16 March 2006)
Shrestha, N. (2002) "Information Literacy for a multipurpose

community telecentre: Nepalese perspectives", White Paper
prepared for UNESCO, the U.S. National Commission on
Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on
Information Literacy for use at the Information Literacy Meeting of
Experts, Prague, The Czech Republic,
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/shrestha-
fullpaper.pdf (accessed 16 March 2006)
Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL)

(1999) Information skills in higher education: a SCONUL Position
Paper, London: SCONUL,
http://www.sconul.ac.uk/pubs_stats/pubs/99104Rev1.doc
UNESCO Information Literacy Bibliography,

http://www.infolit.org/International_Colloquium/UNESCO_bibliogr
aphy.pdf (accessed 19 March 2006)
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Webber, S. and Johnston, W. (2000) "Conceptions of information
literacy: new perspectives and implications", Journal of Information
Science, 26(6), pp 381-397
Wijetunge, P. and Alahakoon, U. P. (2005) "Empowering 8: the

Information Literacy model developed in Sri Lanka to underpin
changing education paradigms of Sri Lanka", Sri Lanka Journal of
Librarianship and Information Management, 1(1), pp 31-41,
http://www.cmb.ac.lk/academic/institutes/nilis/reports/Information
Literacy.pdf (accessed 18 March 2006)
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Appendix 1:
Communication
in Practice - "Pass-it-on"
In many parts of the world, children play games that involve passing
messages from one child to the next. Wherever these games are
played and whatever they are called, they serve as simple yet
profound reminders of the difficulties associated with human
communication.
Try playing this game with stakeholders as an 'ice-breaker' activity

before brainstorming an awareness-raising campaign. The rules are
quite simple.
1. Participants space themselves out so they can whisper to their
immediate neighbours to the right, left, in front and behind
but not hear anyone seated further away.
2. The facilitator writes a short message - no more than one
sentence - on a small piece of paper and shows it to the first
participant at the front of the room. The facilitator keeps the
paper.
3. The first person whispers the message to their neighbour and
so on around the room until it reaches the last participant at
the back. This person is invited to share the message, as they
heard it, with the group.
4. Regardless of the outcome of the message (reasonably
accurate or highly distorted), participants are invited to
discuss their insights about the game. A common realisation
is just how easily information can become distorted by poorly
constructed and managed communication. In social settings,
we might call this 'gossip'.
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97
Appendix 2:
Awareness-Raising
Campaign Plan Template
Name / Title of Campaign: Campaign coordinator/s (contacts):
Scope
1. Overview
Issue/s
Areas of Focus
Purpose
2. Goals / Objectives
Awareness
Behaviours
Beliefs
3. Campaign Message/s
4. Target Audience/s
Primary
Secondary
Actions
5. Communication Strategy
Approaches
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99
Name / Title of Campaign: Campaign coordinator/s (contacts):
Management
6. Budget
7. Timeframe
8. Responsibility
9. Monitoring and Assessment
Quantifiable Measures
Qualitative Indicators
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Appendix 3:
Empowering Eight
Information Literacy Model
Steps Components Demonstrated learning outcomes
1 Identify Define the topic / subject

Determine and understand the audience
Choose the relevant format for the
finished product
Identify the key words
Plan a search strategy
Identify different types of resources where
information may be found
2 Explore Locate resources appropriate to the

chosen topic
Find information appropriate to the
chosen topic
Do interviews, field trips or other outside
research
3 Select Choose relevant information

Determine which sources are too easy,
too hard, or just right
Record relevant information through note
making or making a visual organizer such
as a chart, graph, or outline, etc
Identify the stages in the process
Collect appropriate citations
4 Organise Sort the information

Distinguish between fact, opinion, and fiction
Check for bias in the sources
Sequence the information in a logical order
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101
Steps Components Demonstrated learning outcomes
Use visual organizers to compare or

contrast information
5 Create Prepare information in their own words in

a meaningful way
Revise and edit, alone or with a peer
Finalize the bibliographic format
6 Present Practise for presentation activity

Share the information with an appropriate
audience
Display the information in an appropriate
format to suit the audience
Set up and use equipment properly
7 Assess Accept feedback from other students

Self assess one's performance in response
to the teacher's assessment of the work
Reflect on how well they have done
Determine if new skills were learned
Consider what could be done better
next time
8 Apply Review the feedback and assessment

provided
Use the feedback and assessment for the
next learning activity / task
Endeavour to use the knowledge gained
in a variety of new situations
Determine in what other subjects these
skills can now be used
Add product to a portfolio of productions
Copyright for "Empowering Eight" is held by the National Institute of Library and
Information Sciences, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka -
http://www.cmb.ac.lk/academic/institutes/nilis/index.html (accessed 18 March 2006)
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Glossary
Action Plan
A short plan developed for each approach used in the
communication strategy. The action plan documents the action to
be undertaken (for example, organising a workshop), the desired
outcomes of the action, the group or individual responsible for the
action, the timeframe and resources required.
Audience
The group or community for whom the message contained in an
awareness-raising campaign is intended.
Awareness-Raising
Awareness-raising is understood to be a constructive and potentially
catalytic force for change. To raise public awareness of a topic or
issue is to inform a community's attitudes, behaviours and beliefs
with the intention of influencing them positively in the achievement
of a defined purpose or goal.
Awareness-Raising Campaign
An awareness-raising campaign is a broadly organised effort to
change attitudes or behaviours based on the ability of stakeholders
to communicate the same message to a variety of audiences using
a range of approaches.
Brainstorming
An individual or group problem-solving technique used to generate
ideas about an issue or topic.
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103
Communication Mix
A variety or 'mix' of communication techniques and approaches is
generally used to communicate the central message of an
awareness-raising campaign. Any campaign that relies too heavily
on just one or two approaches is unlikely to achieve its goals.
Communication Strategy
The central message of an awareness-raising campaign is
communicated to its intended audience or audiences using a range
of different techniques and approaches. These are described in a
communication strategy; also known as a communication plan.
Focus Group
The Focus Group is a popular qualitative market research technique
whereby small groups of people are selected at random from
intended audiences and asked about their attitudes towards
particular issues, ideas or products.
Broadly, the set of skills required to identify, find, retrieve, evaluate,
use and communicate information from a variety of sources.
Lifelong Learning
Lifelong learning is the process by which an individual actively seeks
and acquires new knowledge and skills over the course of their
lifetime; usually but not always after the completion of formal
schooling.
Market Research
Market research is the process by which we gather and analyse data
and information about a market or markets. In planning for
awareness-raising, market research techniques may be used to
draw a detailed picture of our intended audience.
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Netiquette
Informal guidelines defining appropriate behaviour on the Internet,
particularly the polite use of email.
Social Marketing
The planning and implementation of programs designed to bring
about social change using concepts adapted from mainstream
commercial marketing.
Stakeholders
Individuals, groups and organisations with a direct interest in or
commitment to raising awareness about a specific topic or issue: for
example, Information Literacy.
Web Logs (blogs)

Websites comprising regularly updated entries displayed in reverse
chronological order, much like a diary or personal journal. Blogs
can include digital photographs and video and audio recordings.
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105
INDEX
action messages, 3033 communication strategies, 1, 16,

action plan, 4041, 93, 103 29, 35, 62, 67
Asian Food Information Centre community approaches, 18
(AFIC), 32, 34 credibility, 5, 10, 33, 44, 47, 52,
Association of College and 54, 57, 71
Research Libraries, USA, ix defining the campaign
'attentional blink', 34 message, 21, 28
@ your library program, 29, 90 definitions, 1, 10, 90
audience, 5, 10, 1618, 2223, describing the target audience,
25, 29, 32, 3537, 3940, 21, 35
47, 5054, 57, 61, 75, 99, education, 1, 5, 15, 17, 2326,
101104 30, 32, 36, 4143, 4546,
awareness and action messages, 5051, 5860, 63, 65, 67,
mix/choosing between awareness 8185, 8788, 92, 9596
messages, 63 enablers, 24, 39
awareness-raising, viix, 12, 5, for special audiences, 59
1018, 2124, 2831, 34, key components of a
36, 38, 40, 4345, 4954, campaign, 16
5762, 67, 75, 77, 82, market research, 2324, 29,
8587, 90, 97, 99, 103104 3639, 104
advocacy, viii, 13, 18, 43, 45, mass communication, 1, 6, 43,
53, 67 45, 48, 67
analysing a campaign, 23 monitoring the campaign, 21
approaches, viii, x, 2, 10, 12, obstacles, 22, 24, 3637, 39
1618, 21, 29, 33, 37, 'Pass it on' game, 3, 97
3940, 4346, 5051, 6062, personal communication, viii, 17,
75, 86, 88, 90, 99, 103104 35, 43, 45, 4748, 67
attributes of a campaign, 16 planning a campaign, 21
brainstorming ideas, 21 planning process , 22, 39
campaign plan template, 40, 99 planning template, using, 21, 39
communication mix, 1718, possible solutions, 36, 82
82, 104 principles of communication, 1
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107
public influence and involvement, children, 3, 2728, 31, 37, 41,
43, 5354 5153, 59, 6063, 65, 67,
public relations (PR), 52, 58, 67 78, 83, 90, 97
readings see chapters, 16 children as communicators, 5152
sample action plan template, 4142 golden rules for children
sample planning template, 99-100 guiding principles for, 6163
special audiences, 59 mass communication, 1, 43, 45,
awareness-raising approaches 48, 67
advocacy, viii, 13, 18, 43, 45, mix of strategies, 8, 44
53, 67 personal communication, 8, 17,
avoiding propaganda, 43, 54 35, 43, 45, 4748, 67
choice or mix of, 44 principles of adult learning,
credibility, 5, 10, 33, 44, 47, 52, 5960
54, 57, 71 props, cues and recognition, 43,
education, 1, 5, 15, 17, 2326, 45
30, 32, 36, 4143, 4546, public influence and
5051, 5860, 63, 65, 67, involvement, 43, 5354
8185, 8788, 92, 9596 public relations (PR), 52, 58, 67
common approaches to, 50 behaviour change, stages, 1215
two types of, 51 Berkowitz, Bob, 73, 77
and information literacy, 51, Big 6, The
85 description
for special audiences, 59 promotional resources
awareness-raising campaign, 10, using, 7779
12, 14, 1618, 21, 23, 28, 'Blogger' system, 49
3435, 38, 40, 4445, blogs, 17, 45, 4849, 105
5152, 54, 57, 60, 97, Boon, Stuart, 49
103104 brainstorming, 2123, 39, 97, 103
campaign plan template, 40, 99 campaign action plan template, 41
actions, viii, 1, 1112, 30, 33, Campaign for the World's Libraries,
40, 68, 81, 84, 99 2427, 42
management, 19, 21, 34, 37, 40, aims, 27, 55
43, 50, 67, 83, 85, 96, 100 core messages, 27
scope, 29, 3839, 99 targets, 27, 43
awareness-raising for special campaigning, 12
audiences, 59 informing the public, 12
adults, younger learners researching the issue, 12
differentiating between mobilising support and
audience types, 59 supporters, 12
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key actions, 12 quality vs quantity, 57
lobbying decision-makers, 12 strategy, 2, 14, 16, 1819, 22,
case studies, 34, 91 30, 37, 39, 4042, 4446,
Approaches to Inculcating 48, 51, 59, 75, 80, 92, 99,
the Habit of Reading-the 101, 103104
NILAM Reading Programme why it fails-Wiio's Laws, 57
in Malaysia, 88 composite culture and local
Implementing Empowering conditions, 83
Eight in Sri Lanka, 84 credibility, 5, 10, 33, 44, 47, 52,
Mass Media and Health 54, 57, 71
Practices, Honduras, 31 'data smog'7375
Promoting Awareness of digital divide, 27, 67, 7172,
Information Literacy in Nepal, 91 7475
Chartered Institute of Library and disasters, 43, 6364, 70, 72
Information Professionals, UK talking to children about, 6364
(CILIP), 50 education, 1, 5, 15, 17, 2326,
Chartered Institute of Public 30, 32, 36, 4143, 4546,
Relations, UK, 52, 58 5051, 5860, 63, 65, 67,
communication 8185, 8788, 92, 9596
as a three-part process, 3 formal, 5052, 92, 104
common challenges, 4
informal, 17, 36, 5051, 81, 105
complexity, 2, 4, 44
Eisenberg, Mike, 73
definition, 68, 77
email, 78, 17, 41, 48, 55, 65,
environmental factors, 4
105
factors that determine
advice to users, 4546
complexity, 6
misunderstanding caused by, 7
hearing, seeing and doing, 1, 9
netiquette in practice, 8
how we learn, 910
Empowering Eight (E8), 77, 8285,
how we remember, 57
89, 91, 101102
in practice, 8, 24, 75, 97
Information Literacy Model, 67,
mass, vii, 1, 6, 17, 31, 43, 45,
73, 83, 85, 96, 101
4849, 67
steps, 15, 77, 101102
mix, viii, 1718, 30, 32, 4344,
46, 6061, 75, 82, 104 components, 16, 77, 8283,
'Pass it on' game, 3, 97 101102
personal, viii, 4, 6, 17, 32, demonstrated learning
3435, 37, 43, 45, 4748, outcomes, 101102
60, 6769, 72, 109 implementation in Sri Lanka, 8485
principles of, ix, 1, 2, 19, 41, enablers, 22, 24, 39
5960 'experiential learning', 9
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109
FAQ, 33, 50 promoting, ixx, 1, 11, 44, 54,
focus groups, 29, 37, 39, 84 67, 77, 86, 8992
Fourth Dimension to Literacy, 69 reading, 19, 4142, 56, 58,
Frequently Asked Questions, 33 6365, 6970, 75, 88, 90, 94
game: 'Pass it on', 3, 97 setting the scene, 67
glossary, 103105 skills, promoting
handbook, iii, viix how to locate and access
intended users, xi-xii information, 80
purpose and objectives, xixii how to understand and use
Healthy Weight, Healthy Shape, 34 information8081
hearing, seeing and doing, 1, 9 models, 77, 89
how we learn, 910 The Big 6, 73, 7780
how we remember, 57 Seven Pillars model, 7980, 83
Honduras, health campaign, 46 Empowering Eight (E8), 82
Human Rights Day, 90 promoting, ixx, 1, 11, 44, 51,
information literacy, ixx, 1, 1011, 54, 67, 77, 86, 8992
1617, 35, 4042, 47, information overload, 34, 56, 71,
4951, 53, 58, 6775, 7374
7787, 8996, 101, 104105 'information society', 10
activities for promoting, 89 Information Literacy Meeting
and awareness-raising,vii, 1, 43, of Experts, Prague, 2003, 70,
67, 75 9395
approaches, viii, x, 2, 10, 12, information overload, 34, 56, 71,
1618, 21, 29, 33, 3740, 7374
4346, 5051, 6062, 75, Inspiring local innovations, 44
86, 88, 90, 99, 103104 International Alliance for
bridging the digital divide, 72 Information Literacy, 9496
community tool, 70 International Federation of
definition, 68, 77 Library Associations and
developing skills in children, 6163 Institutions (IFLA), x, 2425, 42, 93
essential skills and values, 86 International Information Literacy
generic skills, 86 Resources Directory, 10, 77, 93
information skills, 74, 79, 82, International Women's Day, 90
8689, 9495 International Workshop on
values and beliefs, 86 Information Skills for Learning,
importance of, 6,30, 33, 47, 82, 85, 8788, 94
7072, 92 Internet users-worldwide distribution, 73
library activities, 89 lifelong learning, 68, 72, 81, 89,
possible solutions, 36, 82 91, 94, 104
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Making Health Communication planning process, 22, 39
Programs Work-The Pink Book, planning template, 21, 39
21, 42, 58 documenting, 39
market research, 2324, 29, using, 1, 3, 7, 10, 12, 1516,
3639, 104 21, 26, 29, 31, 39, 41,
availability of resources, 24, 36, 45 4647, 4950, 69, 80, 82,
considerations, 44 86, 103104
demographics, 36 Prague Declaration, The, ix, 86
monitoring and evaluation propaganda, 43, 5456, 58
obstacles and solutions, viii, avoiding, 43, 54
3839 common techniques, 37
primary and secondary, 35, 88 definition, 68, 77
quantitative and qualitative purpose, 1, 1011, 22, 39, 54,
social, cultural, religious 81, 88, 99, 103
and political issues, 36 public influence and
sources of information, 37, 69 involvement, 5354
mass communication, 1, 6, 43, 45, public libraries, 38, 68, 89
48, 67 examples of activities, 40, 75,
MAST analogy, 2123 9091
Memory of the World Program, 50 public relations (PR), 18, 43,
misunderstanding caused by 45, 52
email, 7 definition, 68, 77
mobile telephones, use of, 4850 examples of useful PR, 52
Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca Ramalho Correia, Ana Maria, 69
(NILAM), 88 'Really Simple Syndication'
National Disaster Education (RSS), 50
Coalition, 23, 30, 36, 42, 45, Robinson, Les, 14
58, 63, 65 Seven steps to social change,
'netiquette', 7 1516
NILAM programme, 88 RSS news feeds, 4849
obstacles, 22, 24, 3637, 39 SCONUL Seven Pillars Model for
Opening Seven Doors to Social Information Literacy, 79
Change, 15 two core sets of skills, 80
Oxfam International Youth knowing how to locate and
Parliament, ix, 13, 19 access information, 80
personal communication, viii, 17, knowing how to understand
35, 43, 45, 4748, 67 and use information, 8081
planning a campaign, 21 'Seven Doors' approach to social
brainstorming, 2123, 39, 97, 103 marketing, 14, 19, 42
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Seven Steps to Social Change, target audience, 1617, 2123,
1415 25, 29, 32, 35, 39, 5153,
Shenk, David, 73, 75 61, 75, 99
slogans, devising and using, 26, describing, 21, 35, 37, 39, 45, 47
2930 primary, 3537, 39, 45, 88, 99
social marketing, 12, 12, 14, 19, Talking to Children about
37, 42, 55, 105 Disaster, 63
selling a good idea, 1, 34, 47 The Big 6 model, 7778
'Seven Doors' approach, 14 The Pink Book, 21, 38
Society of College, National and Towards a Functional Infoliteracy
University Libraries, 79, 95 Campaign in African States,
special audiences 6869, 94
children, 6163 Towards an Information Literate
principles of adult learning Society, ix, 86
readings, 65 UNESCO, iiiii, viiviii, x, 47,
Talking to Children about 5051, 61, 6971, 8687,
Disasters, 6364 9395
stakeholders, 1112, 2223, 27, web, the, 17, 105
3839, 52, 59, 8384, 97, logs (blogs), 17, 48, 105
103, 105 RSS news feeds, 4849
Standing Conference of National Webber, Sheila, 49
and University Libraries, UK Wiio, Osmo A., 5
(SCONUL), 79 Wiio's Laws, 5, 7, 19
Information Skills Taskforce, 79 World Heart Day, 34
Previous 112
About the Author
Richard Sayers is the Manager of CAVAL Training, a service of
CAVAL Collaborative Solutions; a not-for-profit library
consortium. Richard's responsibilities include the coordination of
training programs for information professionals in Australia and
overseas. Richard has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in
Political Science, Graduate Diploma in Library Science, and
Master of Applied Science in Library and Information
Management. He is also a qualified trainer and regularly
presents and facilitates workshops in Australia and overseas.
Richard has previously worked as a library and information
manager in government and universities. Prior to leaving
government, he was the co-chair of an award winning
special library consortium. Richard's professional interests
include leadership development, marketing and promotion of
information services and training. He is an Associate Fellow of
the Australian Library and Information Association and a
Member of the Australian Institute of Management and the
Australian Institute of Training and Development. Richard is also
a proud graduate of the inaugural Aurora Leadership Institute
held at Thredbo, Australia in 1995.
Next
113
Richard Sayers, Training Manager, CAVAL Training
CAVAL Collaborative Solutions
4 Park Drive, Bundoora, VIC 3083
Australia
Telephone: +61 (0)3 9450 5508

Fax: +61 (0)3 9459 2733
Email: training@caval.edu.au
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Communication and Information (CI)

UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

The designations employed and the presentation of material

The author is responsible for the choice and the presentation of

Ms Paromita Pain, "The Hindu" newspaper, India

Mrs Pradeepa Wijetunge, Director, National Institute of Library and

Mr Stephen O'Connor, CEO, CAVAL Collaborative Solutions,

Dr Susanne Ornager, UNESCO, Thailand

The success of Decade depends on the involvement of all.

Awareness is a somewhat broad and vague term, yet one that is

Any model of awareness-raising, or campaign planning, should be

A characteristic of a good campaign is an optimal combination of

The objective, through this handbook, is to offer a helping hand to

"Bringing about positive, equitable and sustainable

This handbook introduces the principles of public awareness-raising

Information Literacy is defined by the Association of College and

This handbook has been developed primarily as a resource for

When promoting Information Literacy to our communities and

Raising public awareness of any issue is not an easy undertaking

4 http://www.uv.mx/usbi_ver/unesco (accessed 10 March 2006)

It is generally accepted that to raise public awareness of a topic or

The theory and practice of public awareness-raising has always

The difficulty of selling a good idea should not be underestimated,

As effective communication forms the basis of all social marketing

Reflect for a moment on what communication and particularly

5 http://media.socialchange.net.au/strategy/ (accessed 16 March 2006)

Consider the popular game for children known in various parts

7 Tim O'Sullivan et al (1983) Key Concepts in Communication, London:

Three critical factors influence communication complexity and thus

Common environmental factors include:

Why Communication Fails - Wiio's Laws

1. Communication usually fails, except by accident

Why does human communication usually fail?

9 http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/wiio.html (accessed 1 February 2006)

2. If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be

4. The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds

5. In mass communication, the important thing is not how things are

6. The importance of a news item is inversely proportional to the

So-called 'netiquette' is now used by many people to help

10 http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/ (accessed 14 March 2006)

Figure 1: An example of email netiquette in practice

As we have already noted, once information is received, it is then

Learning theorists acknowledge that our effectiveness as

Consider the following propositions:

We remember 10% of what we read

We will revisit these points again in chapter two when we consider

Awareness-raising is a broad and somewhat vague term, yet one

12 http://www.unep.org/tsunami/apell_tsunamis.pdf (accessed 1 February 2006)

As the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami again demonstrated,

Generally, awareness-raising is understood to be a constructive and

13 "Early Warning", New Scientist, 2531(2), 24-31 December 2005, P. 5.

A campaign will typically involve four key actions:

A well-planned and thoughtfully presented awareness-raising

Awareness-Raising, Social Marketing and

The first stages of behaviour change

The Oxfam authors paraphrase these stages as:

A similarly pragmatic approach is described in the "Seven Doors"

Robinson's solution is to identify seven steps to social change:

16 Les Robinson (1998) The Seven Doors Social Marketing Approach,

Robinson goes on to identify each step as an obstacle that has to

Figure 4: Opening Seven Doors to Social Change

The central message or themed messages of a campaign are

There are therefore four key components of an effective awareness-